“Visit Rwanda”: a well primed public relations campaign or a genuine attempt at improving the country’s image abroad?

Abstract

This article examines why Rwanda, a poor African country that is generally known for the horrific genocide that took place there in 1994, has decided to sponsor Arsenal, one of the richest football clubs in the world, using “Visit Rwanda” messaging. It therefore analyses the contextual circumstances, which explain the Rwandan government's choice for profiling itself using this manner of nation branding. As such, the article outlines how the commercial deal is seen as part of a state-led strategy for the long-term development of the country. By presenting Rwanda as a place to go to, the negative image of the genocide will be replaced by the image of a more stable country which is attractive to visitors and investments. However, other reports cast doubt on the sincerity of this strategy, as they purport that this effort in nation branding is being used to persuade the international community to overlook alleged human right violations in the country. Consequently, the article concludes that the Rwandan government's choice for branding the country in this manner appears ambiguous and seemingly limits itself to marketing, in order to achieve benefits for the country that are probably too good to be true.