Rwanda aims to earn $150 million per year from the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) sector, boosting its tourism earnings.

Tourism earned the Rwandan economy $340 million in 2015, a 10% increase from 2014, while in 2013 the country generated $49 million from hosting international meetings.

High-profile conferences that took place in the capital, Kigali, last year also boosted the industry, with at least 20 000 visitors attending events.

Events hosted in Rwanda last year included 16 big conferences, among them the World Economic Forum, the African Union Summit, Transform Africa, the Global Africa Investment Summit and the African Nations Championship.

According to data from the Rwanda Development Board, the 27th Africa Union Summit generated an estimated $4.2 million to the economy while $2.4 million was earned from the World Economic Forum.

The Kigali Convention Centre also opened last year and is expected to boost the MICE sub-sector.

International brands such as Marriott, Radisson Blu and Park Inn also opened hotels in the country, offering more accommodation for conference organisers.

In a bid to achieve revenue earnings of $150 million per year from MICE, Rwanda hopes to increase the number of hotel rooms from the current 8 000 to 13 800 rooms this year.

The country has invested heavily in infrastructure, such as building inter-city roads, renovating Kigali International Airport, facilitating the construction of five-star hotels and the signing of a deal to build Bugesera Airport. The airport is expected to handle 4.5 million passengers annually, seven times the current traffic.

Government has also invested in national carrier, RwandAir, to boost international tourist arrivals to the country.

In 2016, RwandAir acquired two new Airbuses and a Boeing 737-800NG, bringing its fleet to 11 aircraft.