How Zimbabwe Emerged as a Sustainable Tourism Powerhouse in 2026

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Zimbabwe is no longer waiting on the sidelines of global tourism governance. In 2026, the country is actively hosting a series of high-level UN Tourism meetings that are drawing international policymakers, tourism experts, and development partners to Harare. 

Atta Travel reports that the lineup includes the 23rd Meeting of the UN Tourism Committee on Tourism and Sustainability, the second UN Tourism Regional Congress on Women Empowerment in Tourism in Africa, and a UN capacity-building workshop, all of which have been confirmed by the country’s Information Ministry.

The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority notes that this is not a ceremonial positioning. These events place Zimbabwe at the centre of conversations that will shape how tourism is governed, financed, and regulated across Africa and the world. For a country that recorded 1,777,569 tourist arrivals in 2025, a 10% year-on-year increase, the timing could not be better.

Africa posted 80 million international arrivals and earned $55 billion in tourism receipts in 2025. Zimbabwe’s growth, driven by destination confidence, infrastructure upgrades, and community-led gastronomy tourism, is a strong piece of that continental story.

A Historic Leadership Shift at UN Tourism

The arrival of Shaikha Nasser Al-Nowais as the new Secretary-General of UN Tourism marks a clear break from the past. Elected by the UN Tourism Executive Council and confirmed by the General Assembly in Riyadh, she began her 2026–2029 term in January 2026, becoming the first woman and the first Emirati to lead the organisation in its 50-year history.

Her five stated priorities, responsible tourism, capacity building, technology for good, innovative financing, and smart governance, align precisely with what Zimbabwe is trying to build domestically. Her confirmed engagement with Zimbabwe signals that the country fits into the new UN Tourism agenda. Discussions during her visit and subsequent diplomatic contacts have centred on sustainable development, investment in emerging destinations, and policy coordination, areas where Zimbabwe is actively building its profile.

This is more than a diplomatic courtesy call. It represents a structural alignment between Zimbabwe’s national tourism ambitions and the direction of global governance under fresh leadership.

Three Major Events, One Clear Message

The three UN Tourism events Zimbabwe is hosting in 2026 each carries a specific weight. The Committee on Tourism and Sustainability meeting brings together Member States to measure progress and coordinate policy on environmental responsibility. The Women Empowerment Congress specifically targets the persistent under-representation of women in leadership roles across Africa’s tourism industry. The capacity-building workshop addresses skills gaps that limit the competitiveness of local tourism operators.

Together, they send a message: Zimbabwe is not just a destination; it is a venue for serious policy work. Hosting these events builds institutional familiarity with international tourism frameworks, increases Zimbabwe’s visibility in decision-making rooms, and provides local professionals with direct exposure to global standards and networks.

The government has described hosting these meetings as a milestone on the path toward the UN Tourism International Year of Sustainable and Resilient Tourism in 2027, a global observance the United Nations General Assembly formally proclaimed on 26 February 2024.

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Women Empowerment: From Aspiration to Action

The second UN Tourism Regional Congress on Women Empowerment in Tourism in Africa, hosted in Zimbabwe, is not symbolic. It is a working conference. Across Africa, women dominate the informal layers of tourism, from craft sellers and community guides to small hospitality operators, yet rarely hold formal leadership positions on national tourism boards, in hotel chains, or in policy bodies.

Zimbabwe’s decision to host this Congress signals intent to change that. The event brings together training programmes, mentorship frameworks, and entrepreneurship support tools, all directed at expanding women’s formal participation across hospitality, tour operations, and tourism governance. UN Tourism has consistently tied gender inclusion to sustainable development outcomes, and Zimbabwe’s alignment with that framework deepens its credibility as a reform-minded tourism actor on the continent.

Victoria Falls: The Numbers Behind the Name

Victoria Falls remains Zimbabwe’s most powerful tourism asset. In the first quarter of 2025 alone, the Zimbabwe side of the Falls drew 61,139 visitors, with international arrivals reaching 47,633, up from 44,110 in the same period of 2024. That growth was driven by expanded air connectivity, including direct flights from Frankfurt, and by the KAZA UniVisa, which simplifies cross-border travel between Zimbabwe and Zambia.

For the full year, immigration authorities recorded 1,225,167 travellers through the Victoria Falls region in 2025, a 7.87% increase on the 1,135,759 recorded in 2024. The country’s Q3 2025 figures showed 520,751 foreign visitors between July and September, a 15% increase over the same period in 2024, with business travel up 43% year-on-year.

Forbes Australia named Zimbabwe the world’s number one destination to visit in 2025. That kind of international recognition, combined with rising arrival numbers, gives Zimbabwe real leverage as it pushes for deeper integration into global tourism governance.

Building Toward 2027: Skills, Resilience, and Long-Term Strategy

The UN’s International Year of Sustainable and Resilient Tourism 2027 is not a distant commemoration; it is an active policy framework. UN Tourism Secretary-General Shaikha Al Nowais launched the Road Map for the initiative in early 2026, framing sustainability and resilience as ‘not end goals, but a continuous process.  ‘Zimbabwe’s involvement as a host nation for preparatory events places it inside that framework from the start.

The capacity-building workshop Zimbabwe is hosting directly feeds into this 2027 agenda. Zimbabwe has engaged educational institutions and vocational training centres to develop a more skilled, competitive tourism workforce. The long-term play is a resilient human capital base capable of sustaining industry growth beyond the cycle of international meetings and declarations.

Community-based tourism initiatives are central to Zimbabwe’s model. The country is deliberately distributing tourism’s economic benefits more equitably, positioning local communities as primary beneficiaries rather than afterthoughts. That model, if it scales, becomes a reference point for how African tourism development should work.

What Zimbabwe’s Model Could Mean for Nigeria and Africa

Zimbabwe’s 2026 strategy offers Nigeria a clear blueprint. The core lesson is this: institutional engagement with global bodies like UN Tourism is not a luxury; it is an investment that builds credibility, attracts investment, and shapes the policy environment in which your tourism sector will operate.

Nigeria does not currently host major UN tourism governance events. It does not have a strong presence in committees like the UN Tourism Committee on Tourism and Sustainability. That absence has a cost. Countries that show up in these rooms gain access to technical assistance, capacity-building funding, and international partnerships that do not flow to passive observers.

Zimbabwe’s approach to women’s empowerment in tourism is also instructive. Across Nigeria, women dominate informal roles in tourism but rarely ascend to policy or corporate leadership. A deliberate, conference-backed push to formalise women’s participation, backed by international credibility, could unlock a productive segment of Nigeria’s tourism workforce that currently operates well below its capacity.

For the broader African tourism sector, Zimbabwe’s 2026 moment matters because it demonstrates that destination performance and governance leadership can advance together. Africa posted strong arrival numbers in 2025, but arrivals alone do not determine how global tourism policy is written. Governance engagement does. Every African country that actively participates in shaping the 2027 sustainable tourism framework gains a seat at a table that will influence how tourism investment flows across the continent for years to come.

Nigeria, with its population, economic weight, and cultural capital, should be leading those conversations, not observing them from a distance. Zimbabwe’s 2026 playbook is an open invitation to compete.

Zimbabwe is just one chapter in Africa’s fast-moving tourism story. Dive deeper into the policies, destinations, and trends reshaping travel across the continent. Read more of our Africa tourism coverage now.

 

FAQs

1. What UN Tourism events is Zimbabwe hosting in 2026?

Zimbabwe is hosting three major UN Tourism events in 2026: the 23rd Meeting of the UN Tourism Committee on Tourism and Sustainability, the second UN Tourism Regional Congress on Women Empowerment in Tourism in Africa, and a UN capacity-building workshop. Zimbabwe’s Information Ministry confirmed these and form part of the country’s positioning ahead of the UN International Year of Sustainable and Resilient Tourism 2027.

2. Who is the new secretary-general of UN Tourism, and why does it matter for Africa?

Shaikha Nasser Al Nowais of the UAE began her term as UN tourism secretary-general in January 2026. She is the first woman and the first Emirati to hold the position in the organisation’s 50-year history. Her five priorities, responsible tourism, capacity building, technology for good, innovative financing, and smart governance, directly align with Africa’s development needs. Her engagement with Zimbabwe signals that the continent’s emerging destinations are central to the new UN Tourism agenda.

3. How is Zimbabwe’s tourism sector actually performing in 2025–2026?

Zimbabwe recorded 1,777,569 tourist arrivals in 2025, a 10% year-on-year increase. In Q3 2025, foreign arrivals rose 15% compared to the same period in 2024, with business travel up 43%. Victoria Falls alone drew over 1.2 million travellers through the north-western region in 2025. Forbes Australia also named Zimbabwe the world’s number one destination to visit in 2025.

4. What is the UN International Year of Sustainable and Resilient Tourism 2027?

The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 2027 the International Year of Sustainable and Resilient Tourism on 26 February 2024. UN Tourism leads its implementation, aiming to position tourism as a transformative force within the post-2030 development agenda. The year will focus on climate resilience, social inclusion, and sustainable practices. UN Tourism launched its official Road Map for the initiative in early 2026.

5. What does Zimbabwe’s 2026 tourism strategy mean for Nigeria and West Africa?

Zimbabwe’s success in combining strong destination performance with active institutional engagement in global governance bodies offers a clear model for Nigeria and West Africa. Africa’s tourism sector contributed $168 billion to the continent’s GDP in 2023, yet Nigeria, the continent’s largest economy, accounted for only about $5 billion. Nigeria lacks the international policy presence that Zimbabwe is now building. Engaging UN Tourism governance platforms, hosting regional events, and investing in workforce formalisation are the concrete steps Nigerian tourism authorities need to take.