The money was spent on various expenses, including accommodation, food and beverages, entertainment, visits to tourist attractions, gifts and other services used by travelers while abroad.
The figures are contained in NISR’s Travel Expenditure Survey, released on September 15, 2026.
According to the report, Rwandans spent $98.1 million during the first quarter of 2026 and another $99.7 million in the second quarter, bringing total overseas travel expenditure for the first six months of the year to $197.8 million.
Business travel accounts for largest share
During the second quarter of 2026, business travel accounted for the largest share of overseas spending, representing 49.1% of total travel expenditure.
Travel to visit friends and relatives accounted for $20.5 million, while education-related travel amounted to $18.9 million.
Holiday travel accounted for $8.6 million, while Rwandans traveling abroad for medical services spent $2.8 million during the quarter.
Air travel accounted for the largest share of expenditure by mode of transport. Rwandans traveling by air spent $76.2 million in the second quarter, compared with $23.5 million spent by those who traveled by road or other land-based means.
More than 53,000 Rwandans returned by air
NISR data shows that 53,904 Rwandans returned to the country from abroad by air during the second quarter of 2026.
Of these, 31,876 had traveled for business purposes, while 14,928 had visited friends or relatives.
Another 4,929 had traveled for holidays, 1,644 for education and 527 for medical services.
Meanwhile, 276,416 Rwandans returned to the country through land borders during the same period.
Nearly 210,000 of them had traveled for business, while 59,599 had gone abroad to visit friends or relatives.
The figures provide an indication of the scale of international travel by Rwandan residents and the significant amount of money spent outside the country on travel-related goods and services.
