How Rwanda became a luxury ecotourism leader, moving beyond ‘genocide and gorillas’ label

Rwanda made global headlines in 1994 for a genocide that saw Hutu extremists kill around 800,000 people, mostly from the minority Tutsi community, over a 100-day period during the country’s civil war. Today, the landlocked East African nation is not only politically stable but has established itself as a leader in high-end ecotourism, with some of the continent’s most luxurious safari lodges. Manzi Kayihura, who works for ecotourism companies Wilderness Rwanda and Thousand Hills Africa, has watched this transformation up close. He has worked in Rwanda’s tourism industry for almost 30 years, including as chief executive of Rwanda’s national airline and chairman of the Rwanda Tours and Travel Association. Over the last two decades, he has seen the industry champion a high-value, low-volume ecotourism model with sustainability, conservation and community benefit at its core. “Rwanda is ecologically fragile, so we can’t do mass tourism, which is why our strategy has been low volumes and high yields,” he says on a Zoom call from Rwanda. Working with a forward-thinking government has made the task easier, he adds. “Rwanda used to be known for two G’s: genocide and gorillas. Now you can add good governance.” Kayihura is keen to share his vast knowledge of the tourism sector on a state and corporate level. On June 18, he will be in Hong Kong to give a talk titled “Beyond the Gorillas: Rwanda’s Miracle Story” at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club in the city’s Central neighbourhood. The tourism renaissance in Rwanda – often referred to as “the land of a thousand hills” – has been fuelled by strong environmental sustainability policies. In 2008, the country became one of the first to ban plastic bags. Its capital, Kigali, is widely recognised as one of the cleanest cities in Africa and even the world. But Rwanda is best known for wildlife encounters, particularly with its endangered mountain gorillas. The apes garnered global attention through the work of American conservationist Dian Fossey, whose story was turned into the 1988 Hollywood hit Gorillas in the Mist. The movie’s star, Sigourney Weaver, won a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Fossey. Much of the film was set in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park, part of a network of protected areas that also includes Nyungwe Forest National Park – one of Africa’s oldest rainforests and known for chimpanzee sightings – and Akagera National Park, a big-game safari reserve and central Africa’s largest protected wetland. A vital component of Rwanda’s responsible tourism and conservation strategy came in 2017, when the price of gorilla trekking permits was doubled to US$1,500. “A lot of people thought the increase was crazy, but it made sense – it meant higher revenue but less impact in the park,” says Kayihura. He adds that funds generated from park permits go toward protecting the gorillas’ habitat as well as supporting local communities and funding anti-poaching initiatives. Minimising environmental impact while maximising revenue for conservation efforts has paid off. In 2024, Rwanda’s travel and tourism sector contributed 1.9 trillion Rwandan francs (US$1.3 billion) to the economy, representing 9.8 per cent of the country’s total. Primate populations have also benefited, with chimpanzee numbers at Gishwati-Mukura National Park increasing from around 13 in 2008 to 36 in 2023. Mountain gorilla numbers are also rising. The latest census, conducted in May – of which the results are set to be published at the end of the year – is expected to show growth in the hundreds, up from 1,063 in 2019. “Conservation has gone extremely well for the mountain gorillas, which is incredible considering that when they were first documented in 1902, it was predicted they would be extinct by the end of the century,” Kayihura says. “Playing a crucial role are partners like A2A [a bespoke luxury safari company founded in Hong Kong in 2002] who send us guests who pay for that experience, with the money going back into the community and into conservation.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by A2A Safaris (@a2asafaris) “Rwanda is the most amazing place for gorillas and chimpanzees,” says A2A co-founder Jose Cortes in a Zoom call from South Africa, where he is now based. “But what people don’t realise is that you can see other animals, such as leopards, rhino and lions.” Cortes, also an avid photographer, adds that time spent in the company of mountain gorillas is life-changing. “When you spend an hour with the apes, and you get close to them and make a connection, it’s impossible to describe.” He says that there has been a growing interest in African safaris among travellers from Asia. His clients seek bespoke safari experiences, with luxury high on their agenda – and Rwanda has a vast selection of top-end accommodation to choose from. In 2018, luxury resort company One&Only opened Nyungwe House, a 23-room property within the Gisakura Tea Plantation near Nyungwe Forest National Park. It opened its second luxury villa in Rwanda, Gorilla’s Nest, in 2020. The luxurious Singita Kwitonda Lodge opened in Volcanoes National Park in 2019. Half an hour down the road, ecotourism firm Wilderness opened the four-villa luxury lodge Bisate Reserve in 2024. Wilderness has plans to open another luxury property in Gishwati-Mukura National Park in 2026, and boutique lodge company Elewana has plans to open one in Volcanoes National Park. While the openings suggest a bright future for Rwanda’s tourism sector, Kayihura says the country is not forgetting its dark past. Many travellers, he says, visit the genocide memorial in Kigali that was completed in 2004 and is the final resting place for more than 250,000 victims. “I don’t think we should get stuck in the past but, on the other hand, it shouldn’t be forgotten, which is why the genocide memorial is on many travellers’ itinerary,” Kayihura says. “It’s good that visitors get to see where we’re coming from.” “Beyond the Gorillas: Rwanda’s Miracle Story”, June 18, Foreign Correspondents’ Club, 2 Lower Albert Road, Central, Hong Kong

How Rwanda became a luxury ecotourism leader, moving beyond ‘genocide and gorillas’ label

Recent stability and smart conservation policies have helped Rwanda emerge as a high-end safari hub in East Africa, where primates thrive