Rwanda is an emerging tourist destination. SSENNP is helping the country reach its tourism potential by targeting the spectacular Nyungwe National Park (NNP), focusing on inclusive ecotourism development for the benefit of communities surrounding the park, and leveraging private sector investment in the management, construction, and maintenance of new and existing park infrastructure.

Dubbed Nyungwe Nziza, or “beautiful Nyungwe,” the project is helping to transform NNP into a viable ecotourism destination capable of generating employment and sustainable and equitable income for local communities and other stakeholders, thus providing economic incentives to conserve the park’s rich biodiversity. The goal is a thriving economy in NNP with engaged communities and a private sector that benefit economically by protecting and leveraging their unique environment.

In addition to establishing Nyungwe as the number one birding destination in the Rift Valley, Nyungwe Nziza works to decrease threats to biodiversity, such as fire, poaching, and mining. The project aims to increase park visits and revenue, promote NNP as a brand that goes beyond tourism, and develop a core group of trained professionals to support healthcare in a region vulnerable to HIV and other public health threats.

DAI’s team is designing and implementing market-driven product development and marketing strategies to deliver more private sector investment in infrastructure and services. The project will cultivate partnerships and joint ventures between local communities and the private sector to increase the availability of visitor accommodations and develop new attractions. At the same time, it will train local communities to integrate into existing and new value chains around niche products such as bird-watching, chimpanzee tracking, and cultural activities.

In the end, the investment to increase NNP’s attractiveness as a tourist destination will:

• Diversify the local economy, create jobs, and increase family income, resulting in reduced poverty and reduced threats;


• Forge scalable and creative public-private partnerships to increase investment in and around the park, resulting in a sustainable, market-driven ecotourism business plan for NNP;


• Bolster the ecotourism enabling environment, resulting in sustainable ecotourism development at Nyungwe and beyond; and


• Improve the health and lives of people living in and around NNP.