In the fiscal year 2021/2, Rwanda saw over US$38.5 million generated from 86 conferences that attracted more than 18 400 international visitors.
This represents growth of 381% over last year’s US$8 million in the same period.
The country plans to continue the trend, with Chief Executive of the Rwanda Convention Bureau (RCB), Nelly Mukazayire, saying: “In the next year, we have a target of increasing our revenues to US$43m in a total of 72 conferences that are expected to attract 35 000 international guests.”
Rwanda has already been selected to host 68 events in the remaining fiscal year 2022/3, which will generate an estimated US$40 million, according to All Africa.
Speaking at the Kigali Global Dialogue conference, which took place earlier this month, Mukazayire said: “Rwanda is looking to fully recover from the COVID pandemic’s impact on the country's conference tourism.”
According to RCB’s website, Kigali is ranked by the International Congress and Convention Association as the second most popular destination in Africa for hosting international conferences and events.
It attributes this to the country’s simplified visa process, which allows travellers from every country to obtain a visa on arrival. Rwanda is also easily accessible due to the host of flight options offering connectivity to Kigali.
There are also several world-class MICE venues in Rwanda such as the Kigali Convention Centre, the Kigali Conference, and Exhibition Village, Intare Conference Arena and the newly opened Kigali Arena.
