Rwanda’s efforts to promote tourism through partnerships with major sporting players have been recognised at an awards ceremony in Senegal.
The 2023 edition of the Sport Impact Awards winners have been announced. On the theme of sport and development in Africa, a total of 11 projects and initiatives were awarded at the Sea Plaza cinema in Dakar. Among them, the “Visit Rwanda” project was awarded the Public Action of the Year Trophy for its actions promoting the development of sports tourism through partnerships with key players in the ecosystem.
It is one of the 11 projects awarded at the Sport Impact Summit, which was held in Senegal earlier this month. The “Visit Rwanda” project mirrors the tourism strategy adopted by the Rwandan government in recent years, which has chosen to promote tourism through sport.
In order to develop tourism and the country’s attractiveness, Rwanda has established partnerships with international clubs and major sporting players such as Paris Saint Germain, Arsenal and the Basketball Africa League. As the Rwandan government website explains: “Visit Rwanda is the official partner of Arsenal FC and its first jersey sleeve partner. The Visit Rwanda logo features on the left sleeve of all Arsenal FC teams for the duration of this three-year partnership.”
In 2022, Rwanda welcomed more than a million visitors and according to authorities, tourism generated nearly $445 million in revenue. This strategy is also accompanied by investments in new infrastructure in order to attract future continental competitions.
Find out more about the winners of the Sport Impact Awards.
