In Musanze, Rwanda, right by the Volcanoes National Park where gorillas live and many travelers visit, the town is quietly seeing good things happen because of tourism. While the money from tourism doesn’t always spread far or stay the same, for some people living here, simple meetings with visitors have truly changed their lives.
Take Joshua Twishime owns a shoe shop in downtown Musanze. According to him, tourists walk by often, but few come in. “They usually bring all their hiking gear with them,” he says. “But every now and then, someone comes looking for real hiking boots, the ones that go above the ankle. When they buy, the money is really good. Just one sale can help me for days.”
Joshua wishes more tourists would trust the good quality of local products instead of buying everything from outside Rwanda.
Ahozwe Simbi, who finished high school just a few years ago, found a surprising chance to work in hotels and guesthouses. She’s an innkeeper at Amahoro Guest House, one of the smaller places for travelers who want to save money. “At first, it was just a job,” she admits, “but Ihave really started to enjoy meeting people from all over the world.” With a shy smile, she adds that the occasional tip from a tourist makes the work even better.
The money helps her with daily needs, and she dreams of going back to school to study computer science. She hopes her work in tourism can help pay for it.
Not far from the guesthouses is Musanze’s busy food market. Here, Alice Dushime sells fruits to support her two children. She doesn’t speak foreign languages, but tourists still find her stall. “They always want bananas. And tamarillo too, they’re surprised by it,” she laughs. “When they buy, it’s more than I make in a whole day!” While these visits are rare, they mean a lot to her.
Tourists also speak highly of their time with locals. Rose Cosette, a visitor from France, is in Rwanda for the first time after traveling across Africa. Born in Congo-Brazzaville to French parents, she says Rwanda feels like home. “People here smile all the time. It’s contagious,” she says. “I’ve had excellent service everywhere I go.”
Still, Rose found it a bit hard to book activities. “Everything is online now. It’s not easy, even for Europeans,” she admits. After some confusion, her tour guide took her to a local tech support shop (Irembo) for help with the online process. “I used to want to do everything myself, but I learned that paying locals to help you is actually a good way to connect and give back.”
Photo courtesy: African Jungle Adventures
For others like Alexander Ayus, a Nepalese National, who once ran a restaurant in Gisenyi,tourism gave him a chance to hire young people from Musanze. “I hired some young men I met while staying there. The business didn’t last long, but I hope what I paid them helped with their next steps,” he reflects.
Even though tourism isn’t a daily source of money for everyone in Musanze, its impact is clear in key moments: a single good sale, a generous tip, learning a new skill, or even a big dream sparked by working in the industry.
As Rwanda continues to become a top place for nature-friendly tourism, many hope that better efforts to connect tourists and locals will help grow the good things and make sure the people of Musanze share more directly in the rewards.
