Tourism and visits to friends and relatives continue to be a major source of foreign exchange earnings for Rwanda; in the second quarter of 2026, these activities generated over 100 million US dollars—equivalent to more than 147 billion Rwandan Francs—for the country.
The “Travel Expenditure Survey Report (First Semester 2026)” by the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) indicates that foreign visitors to Rwanda spent 161.8 million US dollars during the second quarter of 2026. Converted to local currency, this amounts to approximately 238 billion Rwandan Francs.
Of this total, 57.6 million US dollars (36.9%) was spent by holidaymakers, while 45.5 million US dollars (28.1%) was spent by those visiting friends and relatives.
Business travelers spent 40.2 million US dollars, representing 24.9% of the total expenditure by foreigners in Rwanda during that period.
Overall, leisure travel and visits to friends and relatives accounted for nearly 64% of the total revenue Rwanda generated from foreign travel during that quarter. This demonstrates that tourism, as well as visits to family and friends, continues to play a significant role in generating foreign exchange earnings for the country.
Of the total revenue derived from holiday visitors, gorilla tourism accounts for the largest share.
The report indicates that 79.4% of the earnings from leisure travel were linked to gorilla tourism.
Out of the $57.6 million total spent by holidaymakers, approximately $45.7 million was generated by gorilla tourism.
These figures highlight the immense value of gorilla tourism to Rwanda’s economy, while also pointing to a potential risk: the fact that a large portion of high-end tourism revenue relies on a single tourism product.
Expanding and developing other tourism sites and activities could help Rwanda continue to boost its tourism earnings while reducing its heavy reliance on gorilla tourism.
Foreigners arriving by air spend significantly more
NISR figures also indicate that the number of foreigners entering Rwanda should not be the sole metric for measuring tourism revenue.
In the second quarter of 2026, Rwanda received approximately 220,800 foreigners entering by land, while about 94,300 arrived by air.
Although land arrivals outnumbered air arrivals by more than two to one, the latter group spent far more money.
Foreigners arriving by air spent $135.4 million, whereas those arriving by land spent $26.4 million.
This means that while land arrivals were far more numerous, air arrivals generated more than five times the revenue contributed by land arrivals.
Among foreign visitors arriving by air, those from North America spent the most—totaling $40.2 million—followed by visitors from Europe, who spent $27.7 million.
This underscores that the goal of tourism should not merely be to increase visitor numbers, but also to attract visitors capable of spending significant amounts within the country. Business travel is also on the rise.
Business travel continues to play a significant role in Rwanda’s travel economy.
Expenditure by foreigners on business travel rose from $22.7 million in the first quarter of 2026 to $40.2 million in the second quarter. This represents an increase of nearly 77%.
Meanwhile, Rwandans traveling abroad spent $99.7 million during that same quarter. Business travel accounted for the largest share of this spending at $49 million, followed by visits to friends and relatives ($20.5 million) and education-related travel ($18.9 million).Despite the significant spending by Rwandans abroad, Rwanda continued to record higher travel-related inflows than outflows.
In the second quarter, the country recorded a net inflow of $62.1 million, as foreign visitors’ spending in Rwanda exceeded the amount Rwandans spent abroad.
However, NISR data indicates that spending by Rwandans on travel abroad continues to rise, whereas spending by foreigners in Rwanda is subject to significant fluctuations between quarters.
If you have a child who is dealing with literature, visit this link and get a bank of questions and answers click on this link, Literature quiz and answers and if interested, share this to your friends and groups