Rwanda Is Making a Push for the Right Number of High-Spending Visitors
Photo Credit: Bisate Lodge in Rwanda. The country is making a big push in luxury tourism. Wilderness Safaris
Skift Take
Rwanda is setting itself up as Africa's new big luxury tourism destination. And while mountain gorillas are the country's main attraction, new luxury lodges will help open up other regions of this small, yet highly diverse country.
There’s a lot of buzz about Rwanda. The country is starting to build a new international airport, RwandAir is applying to fly non-stop from Kigali to New York, a convention center opened in the capital city in 2016, and suddenly, a spate of international luxury hospitality operators are opening nature resorts in the countryside.
Moreover, the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund has released statistics showing that the population of mountain gorillas living in the Virunga mountains (which span Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo) grew from 480 in 2010 to 604 in 2016.
That's all good news for Rwanda's tourism industry, which is taking a low-volume, high-yield approach, focusing on attracting high-end visitors and environmentally responsible tour operations.
James Currie, an expert in the fields of sustainable development and environmental management,
