Tourists participate in the gorilla tracking at Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, Oct. 8, 2016. (Xinhua/Yang Mengxi)
Rwanda will intensify promotion efforts to encourage domestic tourism, the Rwanda Development Board said. Endangered mountain gorillas living in Volcanoes National Park contribute about 90 percent of tourism revenues from Rwanda national parks.
KIGALI, June 27 (Xinhua) -- Rwanda will intensify promotion efforts to encourage domestic tourism, the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) said on Friday.
"RDB has embarked on domestic tourism promotion, encouraging Rwandans to visit the country's main tourist attractions. As a result, 69 tourists have booked to track the endangered mountain gorillas in the Volcanoes National Park this weekend while 215 have visited Akagera National Park," said RDB's Chief Tourism Officer Belise Kariza while addressing an online press conference on the reopening of tourism announced last week.
"We will continue to intensify our marketing and promotion efforts to encourage domestic tourists to explore the different attractions around the country," she said.
A staff member welcomes tourists at Rwanda pavilion of the Francophonie village in Yerevan, Armenia, Oct. 9, 2018. (Xinhua/Gevorg Ghazaryan)
The chief tourism officer also encouraged the domestic market to take advantage of the promotional offers being shared.
The central African country last Wednesday announced the reopening of tourism activities, with a sharp cut in the price of permits for tracking endangered mountain gorillas, which allowed international travellers entering the country by charter flights.
More than 8.9 percent of Rwanda's land are protected as national parks, including Akagera National Park, Nyungwe National Park, Volcanoes National Park and Gishwati Mukura National Park.
Endangered mountain gorillas living in Volcanoes National Park contribute about 90 percent of tourism revenues from Rwanda national parks, the RDB said in February last year.
