Having one of the fastest growing tourism economies, Rwanda is a landlocked country located in east Africa. Its one of the African countries that suffered cases of political instability and it took many years for tourists to start visiting the country freely without fear and actually even today some people still have that perception thinking that Rwanda is still insecure which is very wrong. The insecurity in Rwanda ended back in 1993 and since then the country has been fighting hard to reboot its tourism industry that it has successfully done.
Today a number of tourists from different parts of the world visit Rwanda for wildlife safaris visiting any of the four national parks in the country while others go for tours visiting the city, genocide memorial sites, major cultural centers and many other outstanding tourist attractions. Lets look at the major reasons why tourism is thriving a lot today in Rwanda.
Peace And Security
Whenever there is peace, tourism definitely thrives. Rwanda ever since the genocide ended has not had any kind of insecurity. The government has maintained peace and security for over two decades now which has stabilized the Rwandese economy boosting activities especially tourism.
The Mountain Gorillas
Half of the mountain gorilla populations in the Virunga massif live in Rwanda’s volcanoes national park located in the northwestern part of the country. The national park has a total of 18 mountain gorilla families 10 of which are habituated and open to tourists visits. Many tourists love to see the mountain gorillas in their natural environments and for that reason a number of them head to Rwanda for wildlife safaris as they trek these magical animals. The mountain gorilla trekking permit for Rwanda compared to Uganda and Congo is a little expensive ($750) but this has never for once discouraged adventurous tourists interested in viewing the mountain gorillas. These rare animals are therefore among the core reasons for the thriving tourism in Rwanda.
Improvement In The Hotel Industry
The hotel industry is a very important aspect of tourism because when tourists visit a certain place, they have to get where to eat and sleep. During the 1993 Rwandese genocide, a number of hotels that were available by then were destroyed. The good news is that things have greatly changed today as many hotels have been built and the once destroyed renovated. There are a number of hotels in Kigali Rwanda’s capital city and in the major national parks offering standard hospitality services for example hotel des mille Collines where some Rwandese took refuge during the genocide, flame tree hotel, golf hills residence, Kigali Serena hotel, the manor hotel, the mirror hotel, hotel chez Lando and so many others which are located in the city center just a few kilometers from Kigali international airport.
When you get to Rwanda’s national parks, there are also a number of lodges providing tailor made services to the people for example in Nyungwe forest national park there is Nyungwe forest lodge situated in the middle of a tea plantation surrounded by the famous Nyungwe forest, Nyungwe top view hotel, in volcanoes national park there is le Bambou lodge, gorilla view lodge, Sabyinyo silverback lodge, Virunga lodge and many others. In Akagera national park, there is Akagera game lodge and the eco friendly Ruzizi tented camp. This clearly shows that while in Rwanda even in the remote national parks, one cannot fail to get where to eat and have a good night sleep and its among the reasons why many tourists are visiting Rwanda today.
The City (Kigali)
Kigali is a very organized city and a center for most business in Rwanda. Modern structures are now being built including a number of luxurious hotels but most importantly it’s always kept clean and it’s among the cleanest cities on the African continent. Kigali has some tourist attractions including the Kigali (Gisozi) genocide memorial where a number of people were killed during the genocide back in 1993. This genocide memorial site has audios and video plays depicting what the genocide was like back in days, a mass grave where a number of people were killed plus a list of names of people who are died and some who are still missing and a chamber with cupboards full of skeletons of people. This is a dark tourism site that many tourists do not miss while in Kigali.
