Cape Town vs Kigali

Cape Town leads Kigali by 1 points on the CIRA Index, 57 to 56. Cape Town grades better on 10 measures, Kigali on 8; the same 35 measures from public sources for both.

Scores by each organisation's criteria

• CIRA Index: Cape Town 57, Kigali 56
• OECD: Cape Town 56, Kigali 58
• UN Tourism: Cape Town 39, Kigali 53
• UNDRR: Cape Town 57, Kigali 51

Theme by theme

• Demand and seasonality: Cape Town 75, Kigali 58
• Economy and jobs: Cape Town 13, Kigali 56
• Climate and hazards: Cape Town 60, Kigali 55
• Water and environment: Cape Town 13, Kigali 50
• Community and housing: Cape Town 67, Kigali 50
• Access and continuity: Cape Town 71, Kigali 58

Where Cape Town is stronger

• Nights in the three busiest months: 29 % 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.
• Domestic share of nights: 57 % of nights by residents of the same country (City of Cape Town - Economic Performance Indicators for Cape Town (EPIC), Q2 2025). At or above 45: grade 4/4.
• Largest foreign market: 14.7 % of international arrivals or nights (Cape Town Tourism - Economic Value of Tourism Report, 2025). At or below 15: grade 4/4.
• Hotel bed or room occupancy: 61.7 % average annual occupancy (Cape Town Tourism, Economic Value of Tourism 2025 Report, 2025). Between 55 and 65: grade 2/4.
• Income per head: 15,906 GDP per capita, USD PPP (country figure) (World Bank WDI, 2025). Between 15,000 and 30,000: grade 1/4.
• Flood hazard: medium (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 2/4.
• Rent growth: 9.7 % change in rents over the last 12 months (region figure) (PayProp / Rode Media, PayProp Rental Index, Q2 2026). Between 6 and 10: grade 2/4.
• Access redundancy: 3 independent ways in: international airport, intercity rail, port, motorway (City of Cape Town / PRASA / Transnet Port Authority, 2024–2026). Between 3 and 4: grade 3/4.
• Tourism crisis and recovery plan: A plan tested in an exercise or a real event, with lessons published (Western Cape Government / African Centre for Cities / CPUT, 2021–2024). Grade 4/4.
• 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

• Recovery against 2019: 83.4 % of 2019 visitor nights reached in the latest full year (country figure) (Rwanda Development Board (RDB) Five-Year Strategy 2025–2030 / Annual Report 2024, 2024). Between 80 and 90: grade 1/4.
• Unemployment rate: 11.4 % of the labour force (country figure) (World Bank WDI, 2025). Between 8 and 12: grade 2/4.
• Wastewater safely treated: 52.4 % of domestic wastewater safely treated (country figure) (UN Statistics Division, SDG Country Profiles (Indicator 6.3.1), 2024). Between 50 and 70: grade 1/4.
• Municipal waste per resident: 204.4 kg per resident per year (Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), Waste Characterisation Study for the City of Kigali, 2021). At or below 350: grade 4/4.
• Green space: 17 % of the urban area that is green or tree-covered (Rwanda Forestry Authority / Pulitzer Center, 2019). Between 10 and 20: grade 1/4.
• Short-let density: 0.1 short-term rental listings per 100 dwellings (Kwanda Real Estate / AirROI (Furnished Apartments Kigali: Airbnb Profitability Guide 2026) & National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (Fifth Rwanda Population and Housing Census 2022), March 2024 – March 2025). At or below 0.5: grade 4/4.
• 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)

• South Africa: #61 of 110 in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026
• Rwanda: #91 of 110 in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026

Cape Town in full · Kigali in full

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