Hotels are fully booked, taxis are making more trips and traders are seeing a surge in customers as thousands of visitors descend on Musanze for the 21st edition of Kwita Izina, Rwanda’s annual gorilla naming ceremony.

The influx is driving up demand across the local economy, with hotels, restaurants, taxi operators, retailers and other service providers reporting more customers as visitors arrive for the ceremony.

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At Best View Hotel, the difference between normal business and the Kwita Izina period is significant.

The 80-room hotel normally records average occupancy of about 50 per cent, depending on the season. During Kwita Izina, however, demand rises sharply, with some guests booking their rooms months in advance.

"Once RDB announces the date, people immediately start making bookings,” said Bonny Cyuzuzo, the hotel manager.

The hotel is currently fully booked, with room rates ranging from Rwf40,000 for a single room with breakfast to Rwf200,000 for a suite.

The increased demand extends beyond accommodation, with guests also using the hotel’s restaurant, bar, conference facilities, swimming pool and gym.

The hotel has brought in additional staff to cope with the increased number of visitors.

At Amikus Rwanda, the surge is being felt across its hotel, bakery and coffee shop.

Partner Mukama Egide said the hotel has been fully booked for the past three days, with a large proportion of its guests coming for Kwita Izina.

"The atmosphere has changed a lot in that we have a lot of visitors coming in. Talking specifically about the hotel, we’ve been fully booked for the last three days. And a big number of these people are here for Kwita Izina,” he said.

The increase in visitors is also driving sales at the company’s other businesses, with more customers booking lunches and dinners and buying snacks, coffee and other products.

"People will come, get hungry, go to the bakery, get a snack. People will get hungry, go to the coffee shop and have a meal, maybe a cup of coffee. So, you can tell in terms of sales, things have changed,” Egide said.

Amikus employs more than 150 permanent and part-time workers and has brought in additional staff to support its operations during the ceremony.

The company also works with the Rwanda Development Board (RDB), which recommends its facilities to some visitors attending Kwita Izina. Some RDB staff are also staying at the hotel.

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Transport operators see more passengers

The business boost is not limited to hospitality.

Taxi driver Desire Nzayisenga said he has already started getting more passengers travelling to the event venue, after spending months without making such trips.

During the Kwita Izina period, he said, he can carry four or five passengers travelling to the event while continuing to serve his regular customers.

On ordinary days, however, business can be slow enough for drivers to spend much of the day without a passenger.

Visitors typically begin arriving several days before the ceremony and stay in the area for days afterwards, creating sustained demand for transport.

Nzayisenga said the influx also requires drivers to pay greater attention to how they serve visitors.

"Welcoming a visitor for such an event is not the same as serving an ordinary customer,” he said.

Retailers are similarly benefiting from the increased movement.

Edmond Mwizerwa, a clothes trader at Goiko Market, said Kwita Izina changes the rhythm of business in Musanze, bringing together local residents and visitors looking for different products.

"This is the time when all eyes are on Musanze,” he said.

Mwizerwa said traders stock a wider variety of clothes because visitors have different tastes from their regular customers. Some visitors also arrive with plans to shop after reaching Musanze.

The same trend is being reported by personal service providers.

Emmanuel Shaffy Muzima, who runs a hairdressing business in Musanze, said the number of customers has increased significantly as the event approaches.

He normally serves about eight clients over a weekend but said that number has nearly doubled during the Kwita Izina period.

"Kwita Izina is usually like a festive period, and that is why I came here early,” he said.

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Tourism revenue extends beyond businesses

The increased business activity comes against a wider backdrop of tourism contributing to communities living around Rwanda’s protected areas.

More than Rwf23 billion has been invested in nearly 1,300 community projects through the Tourism Revenue Sharing Programme, which allocates 10 per cent of tourism revenue to communities surrounding protected areas.

The programme has supported projects in education, healthcare, water infrastructure, agriculture, livestock and livelihoods.

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In communities around Volcanoes National Park, Northern Province Governor Maurice Mugabowagahunde said 738 projects worth approximately Rwf8 billion have been implemented since 2005.

He said the investments have helped change how communities relate to conservation, with residents increasingly seeing protection of the park as being in their own interest.

Tourism has also contributed to the broader development of Musanze, including the growth of hospitality businesses and infrastructure.

Mugabowagahunde said the number of hotels with at least one star in the city has surpassed 50, while increased tourism activity has contributed to business and infrastructure development across the province.

An annual business opportunity

The current surge comes as Musanze hosts a packed programme of activities around the 21st Kwita Izina.

The programme includes a conservation exhibition running from August 28 to September 8 in Kinigi, a community celebration concert on September 3, the naming ceremony on September 4 and other tourism and conservation activities.

The event comes as Rwanda’s tourism sector continues to expand. In 2025, national parks recorded 155,394 visits and generated $40.8 million in revenue, with Volcanoes National Park accounting for $35.8 million.

For businesses in Musanze, the annual gorilla naming ceremony has therefore become more than a conservation event. It is also a major commercial opportunity, bringing a concentrated influx of visitors who spend on accommodation, food, transport, shopping and other services.