In the past decade, the government of Rwanda has made significant investments in the tourism sector, positioning it as a vital driver of economic development and decentralization, catering to both domestic and international visitors.

As part of the Rwanda Economy Digitalisation Programme, we conducted a landscaping study of the tourism industry to understand its contribution to the Rwandan economy and some of the initiatives being conducted.

The tertiary sector which consists of retail, transport, hotel and restaurant, cultural domestic and other services contribute 46% to Rwanda’s GDP. These service sectors have strong connections to tourism, solidifying it as a pivotal industry with significant spillover benefits.

Gorilla tourism, cultural tourism, wildlife biodiversity, ecotourism and Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) tourism are the main tourist activities in the country. While COVID-19 has had a significant impact on the sector, declining by 75%; there are still many opportunities that the sector can take advantage to increase revenue and the number of tourists, create jobs, MICE development, electronic payments an increase presence online.

Key opportunities the sector can tap into include:

1. Increasing the online presence of businesses in the sector to reach a broader audience.
2. Enhancing linkages and coordination among entities to collect valuable data for informed decision-making.
3. Identify the main factors that have led to MICE expansion and replicating these successes, particularly for sports events.
4. Understanding the key expenditure activities for tourists across the value chain to focus efforts in those sectors.
5. Developing digital payment infrastructure, particularly to extend its reach to more remote areas, enhances the convenience and accessibility of electronic transactions.

If you are interested in working with us on payments digitalisation or evidence-based decision making you can contact Arlette Rwakazina.