The NSIR (National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda), in partnership with the Rwanda Development Board and the Rwanda Directorate General of Immigration and Emigration, has published a report on travel expenditures for both non-Rwandan and Rwandan residents. This report is published several times a year to better understand the needs and behaviors of travelers. It does not take into account connecting passengers who do not leave the airport.
https://www.statistics.gov.rw/sites/def ... Report.pdf
The report in question covers the period from May to July. Some markets are experiencing declines in certain segments, but there is an increase compared to 2024. About Airports, Kigali is the only point of entry. There is Kamembe, but the only regular line is to Kigali and because of its location near DR Congo, a lot of people go to Bukavu afterwards.
In the second quarter of 2025, Rwanda exported travel services with an estimated value of USD 121.7 million.
According to this estimate, air spending per non-resident while in Rwanda amounts to USD 101.1 million, with the main purpose being vacations (USD 49.5 million), of which 80.5% of revenue comes from gorillas. North America accounts for the largest share of spending (USD 37.7 million).
Furthermore, land spending per non-resident while in Rwanda amounts to USD 20.7 million, with the main purpose being business travel (USD 9 million) and non-business travel (USD 14.4 million).
In the second quarter of 2025, Rwanda imported travel services with an estimated value of USD 89.3 million. According to this estimate, air spending per resident while abroad amounts to USD 59.1 million, with the main purpose being business travel (USD 22.4 million) and non-business travel (USD 47.4 million).
Additionally, residents traveling by land spent USD 30.2 million, the largest expenditure by purpose being sightseeing travel (USD 12.0 million) and the largest expenditure to the EAC (USD 30.1 million).
We can see that VFR (Visiting Relatives & Friends), Business, and Transit travelers are the three main reasons why people come to Rwanda. For Transit travelers, there is clearly a market to be developed for passengers who stay in Rwanda for a short time, for example, during a long connection.
Rwandans, for their part, travel locally, mainly within the EAC (East African Community: Burundi, Kenya, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania, Somalia, South Sudan), then Asia, and finally the rest of Africa. We can see that Business, VFR, and Vacation travelers represent the three main reasons why Rwandans travel.
It is therefore interesting that business travelers represent a large portion of the demand to and from Rwanda. For "holiday" and "gorilla" travelers, i.e., people coming to Rwanda for leisure, the data is also interesting. Rwanda is a country that attracts a higher-income clientele.
The flows are not enormous compared to Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, especially for Rwandans traveling abroad, hence the low service to Rwanda. But premium demand is certainly attractive, with classes at the front of the aircraft being able to be well-filled. A (small) advantage for attracting airlines. However, depending on the period, Rwandans are traveling more frequently, as in Q4, with nearly 1,500 Rwandans traveling to Asia for business, compared to 700 from May to July (
https://www.statistics.gov.rw/sites/def ... REPORT.pdf).
With the new partnership between Visit Rwanda and the Los Angeles Clippers (NBA) and Los Angeles Rams (NFL), i bet that the number of American visitors will increase again. The USA is Rwanda's largest market outside Africa, with around 40,000 tourists per year. Everything will depend on the state of the American economy. For Asia, demand from the Middle East, South Asia, and China is on the rise. We'll have to wait and see in the coming years how demand will react for Jordan and Central Asia (Kazakhstan), the Caucasus (Armenia and Azerbaijan), where major projects (agriculture, tourism, aerospace, education, health, etc.) are being implemented, sometimes with the lifting of visa restrictions.
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Rwanda Aviation News (Drones, Air Force, Civil Aviation, Space, Air Balloon): https://www.facebook.com/RwandAn-Flyer-153177931456873
) are listed on Jeddah Airport (only Damman and Ryiadh are operated in code share where RwandAir put its code on Qatar Airways flights, so the WB code on JED Airport is not about code share). I don't know if JED didn't make an update after the RwandAir Hajj flights few months ago or if it means that an official announcement about RwandAir flights to Jeddah will be soon make. RwandAir COO said few ago that Jeddah flights could be start between late 2025 and early 2026.
, RwandAir stopped its route in 2013 and it's a beach resort destination) - Kigali