The number of tourist arrivals in Rwanda has more than doubled since 2010 – buoyed by regional tourists who make up for more than 87 per cent of the visitors.

International tourists make up a paltry 13 per cent and their total only increased by a few thousands from 159,000 in 2011 to 163,000 in 2015, while regional tourists almost doubled from 748,000 to 1.14 million in the same period.

So far, a clear cut strategy to reverse the trend and attract more international tourists has been to shift the famous Gorilla Naming Ceremony (Kwita Izina) from the customary periods between June and July to September.

The chief tourism officer at Rwanda Development Board, Belise Kariza, said that Kwita Izina will for the first time align with the World Tourism Month — September — to attract more international tourists who celebrate the month.

“By shifting Kwita Izina back to September, we intend to align this important event with the World Tourism Day, as well as fill up the gap that we experience in the low tourist season that begins in September,” Ms Kariza said.

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“We will continue attending promotional tourism fares in strategic markets and advertise our tourism products. We also occasionally arrange tourism fares in Rwanda and invite operators, who will help spread the message about Rwanda’s tourist attractions,” she said.

She also cited the East African Tourist Visa – launched in February 2014 — as a quality initiative that has shown signs of attracting more tourists and easing their entry into Rwanda and the region.

Tourism remains Rwanda’s number one revenue generator, having contributed $318 million (about Rwf250 billion) in 2015 from $305 million (Rwf240 billion) in 2014.

In 2010, the value of domestic investments in tourism stood at $22.2 million (Rwf17.4 billion), which increased to $34.7 million (Rwf27 billion) in 2015, while foreign investments stood at $22 million. Figures indicate that Rwanda’s strategy to become the regional conference hub has paid off, with the number of conference visitors increasing from 19,085 in 2014 to 23,804 in 2015.