Rwanda Development Board (RDB) has revealed that domestic tourism in Rwanda continued to grow in 2025, with the number of Rwandans visiting national parks increasing by 8.1% to more than 59,000, up from over 54,000 in 2024.
Mutangana Eugène, Executive Secretary of the Rwanda Nature Foundation (RNF), said Rwanda’s tourism sector continues to grow steadily, with Rwandans increasingly participating in domestic tourism.
“We are pleased with the continued growth of domestic tourism. In 2025, the number of Rwandans who visited the country’s national parks increased by 8.1%, reaching more than 59,000. This shows that Rwandans are increasingly valuing the country’s heritage, and it motivates us to continue increasing the number of people visiting Rwanda’s tourist attractions,” he said.
He noted that the growth was partly driven by the efforts the country has made to promote domestic tourism through various initiatives, including the Tembera u Rwanda campaign.
Mutangana said that although the Tembera u Rwanda programme is currently not operational, other similar initiatives are being prepared.
“The Tembera u Rwanda programme is currently not operational, but that does not mean RDB has neglected the promotion of domestic tourism. There are other programmes that we will introduce soon. They are aimed at promoting domestic tourism and can be compared to Tembera u Rwanda,” he said.
Tembera u Rwanda was launched in October 2016 with the aim of encouraging Rwandans to discover and visit the country’s attractions. The programme provided opportunities for people to travel around Rwanda, explore its tourist destinations and discover the country’s natural and cultural heritage.
Hakiza Jackson, Director of the Tourism Department at the Private Sector Federation (PSF), said the growth of domestic tourism should be viewed by the private sector as an investment opportunity.
“In 2025, domestic tourism attracted more than 59,000 visitors. This is a significant number, and much of it resulted from programmes such as Tembera u Rwanda. As the private sector, we see opportunities for investment, and we are working with RDB to ensure that such a programme returns so that Rwandans can continue to be encouraged to explore their own country,” he said.
“When we talk about the increasing number of international visitors to Rwanda, this should also go hand in hand with growth in domestic tourism. The media has an important role to play, but our role as the private sector is equally important in continuing to promote tourism in Rwanda.”
In 2025, Rwanda received more than 1.49 million visitors, generating more than $685 million in tourism revenue.
Under the country’s Second National Strategy for Transformation (NST2), Rwanda aims to double tourism revenues to $1.1 billion by 2029.
