Cairo vs Kigali

Cairo and Kigali are level on the CIRA Index at 56. Cairo grades better on 9 measures, Kigali on 7; the same 35 measures from public sources for both.

Scores by each organisation's criteria

• CIRA Index: Cairo 56, Kigali 56
• OECD: Cairo 57, Kigali 58
• UN Tourism: Cairo 63, Kigali 53
• UNDRR: Cairo 37, Kigali 51

Theme by theme

• Demand and seasonality: Cairo 92, Kigali 58
• Economy and jobs: Cairo 67, Kigali 56
• Climate and hazards: Cairo 15, Kigali 55
• Water and environment: Cairo 50, Kigali 50
• Community and housing: Cairo 63, Kigali 50
• Access and continuity: Cairo 50, Kigali 58

Where Cairo is stronger

• Nights in the three busiest months: 28.2 % of annual nights (country figure) (World Economic Forum, TTDI 2026 (data: UN Tourism by United Nations World Tourism Organization), 2024, 2025 moving average). At or below 30: grade 4/4.
• Largest foreign market: 10 % of international arrivals or nights (country figure) (Egypt Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities / Egypt Tourism Statistics, 2024). At or below 15: grade 4/4.
• Recovery against 2019: 114.8 % of 2019 visitor nights reached in the latest full year (country figure) (Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities / Central Bank of Egypt / Road Genius, 2024). At or above 110: grade 4/4.
• Hotel bed or room occupancy: 71.1 % average annual occupancy (JLL / STR Global via Economy Middle East, 'Cairo's hospitality market sees strong growth in 2025', Q2 2025). Between 65 and 75: grade 3/4.
• Unemployment rate: 6.8 % of the labour force (country figure) (World Bank WDI, 2025). Between 5 and 8: grade 3/4.
• Income per head: 20,204 GDP per capita, USD PPP (country figure) (World Bank WDI, 2025). Between 15,000 and 30,000: grade 1/4.
• Rent growth: 15 % change in rents over the last 12 months (مرصد العمران (Built Environment Observatory), Cairo Rent Price Index – 2026 Q2, H1 2026). Between 10 and 15: grade 1/4.
• Access redundancy: 3 independent ways in: international airport, intercity rail, port, motorway (Oxford Business Group / Cairo Airport Company / Egyptian National Railways, 2024–2026). Between 3 and 4: grade 3/4.
• Travel advisory: 2 stricter of the US and Canadian government advisory for the country, 1 (normal precautions) to 4 (do not travel) (country figure) (US State Department and Government of Canada travel advisories, 2026-09-29). Between 1 and 2: grade 3/4.

Where Kigali is stronger

• Extreme heat days: 0 days a year at or above 35°C (last 5 full years) (ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2021–2025). At or below 5: grade 4/4.
• Tropical nights: 0 nights a year with a minimum at or above 20°C (last 5 full years) (ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2021–2025). At or below 10: grade 4/4.
• Water scarcity: medium (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 2/4.
• Early warning and emergency plan: An updated city plan with public early warning for heat, flood or fire (Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) & City of Kigali, 2021–2024). Grade 3/4.
• Tourism crisis and recovery plan: A plan with named owners, operators and recovery funding (Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MINECOFIN) & Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), 2021–2024). Grade 3/4.
• Government effectiveness: 62.7 World Bank WGI percentile rank, 0–100 (country figure) (World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025). Between 60 and 80: grade 3/4.
• Dedicated tourism funding: A dedicated source partly ring-fenced for residents, infrastructure or sustainability (Rwanda Development Board (RDB), 2024–2026). Grade 3/4.

Country context (World Economic Forum)

• Egypt: #63 of 110 in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026
• Rwanda: #91 of 110 in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026

Cairo in full · Kigali in full

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