Marketing, tourism strategy After the civil war in Rwanda very few people were optimistic about the future of mountain gorillas or even considered the commercial side of the whole story, but since 1994 they have been made some significant steps. The Government of Rwanda has made efforts to create a clear tourism strategy. With input from the private sector and the United Nations, the government has successfully crafted a tourism strategy focused on high-end tourism with conservation at the heart of its plan. The strategy also outlined the need for tourism diversification towards international conferences, bird watching and other wildlife. An international marketing campaign was launched to improve the country's image abroad, while a national campaign aimed to increase local acceptance of tourists. Several market-based reforms were also adopted, most notably the near-complete privatization of the hotel and leisure sector. This was an important step in creating the environment for profitable business and the most significant part was the mountain gorillas.2.1 First