Gallery
Mfuwe Sunset
Hippopotamus in the Zambezi River
Tourism in Zambia relates to tourism in the African nation Zambia. The tourism industry is a major and growing industry in Zambia. Zambia has more than 2500 lions along with several National parks, waterfalls, lakes, rivers, and historic monuments. Zambia has been involved in several agreements on tourism with nations like Uganda and Kenya. Uganda Ministry of Tourism and Arts said Zambia is a model in tourism in Africa. Zambia Tourism Agency (ZTA) has partnered with the Government through the Ministry of Tourism and private sector to enhance the marketing aspect in the tourism industry. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
Zambia's tourism industry is one of the country's growth potential areas. It has been given the non-traditional export status and is receiving a lot of support from the Government by way of infrastructure development, promotion of increased private sector participation, as well as attractive tax incentives for all investments in the sector. [6]
Hunting is also an important part of the Zambian tourist industry. Though the country banned all hunting in January 2013 amid concerns of corruption and over hunting of certain species, it legalized hunting again for most species of plains game in 2014. Additionally, the Zambian Tourism Minister announced that leopards may be legally hunted starting in 2015 and lions may be hunted again beginning in 2016. [7]
Due to Zambia's poor economic status, the country has historically relied on foreign aid in an attempt to alleviate poverty. [34] Tourism has emerged in recent years as an alternate method to mining to boost Zambia's economy. [35] [36]
Tourism is being seen by Zambia's government as a tool for economic and rural development, as it generates income, creates jobs, promotes wildlife conservation, and improves standards of living. [37] [35]
The increasingly popular worldwide phenomena adventure tourism has also risen in popularity within Zambia, especially within the city of Livingstone, which is now becoming known as Africa's "adventure tourism capital". [38]
Since tourism as an economic sector is boosted with cooperation between neighboring countries, Zambia, as a member of the South African Development Community (SADC), has cooperated with other countries within the SADC in order to mutually attract tourists. [39]
Zambia, along with fellow SADC nations, have struggled to compete with other nations with more established tourist destinations, for a variety of reasons, some of which include difficulty in transportation to the countries, an absence of direct international flights, and failure to create attractive tourist experiences or products. [39]
As a member of the SADC,Zambia engaged in the following efforts to promote tourism.
SADC Tourism Protocol 1998 - Member countries are urged to create a "Univisa" that would allow tourists to travel across the borders of SADC countries freely. After initial success, in November 2014, Zambia and Zimbabwe signed a memorandum of understanding to put into effect a more permanent UNIVISA which allows tourists to visit both countries with a single visa. [40]
Regional Tourism Organization of South Africa (RETOSA) 2002 - In an attempt to make the SADC more appealing to visitors, the charter imposed upon member states of SADC a series of protocols and programs to promote the region. [39]
Zambia is currently struggling to facilitate tourism without creating a burden on local communities that would result in a loss of culture, an unstable economy, and compromised environment. [39]
An increase in sport hunting and ecotourism has resulted in an increase in wildlife populations in South African countries such as Zambia. Since Zambia is home to so many national parks, waterfalls, and game management areas, most of Zambia's tourism is dependent on wildlife. [41] Ecotourism within Zambia, while devastated by the Covid-19 pandemic, has played a major role in controlling poaching and bringing in foreign investment for wildlife protection. [42]
One U.N. Development Programme, the Lion's Share, announced recently its commitment to grant $400,000 towards wildlife-based tourism in Zambia, in order to protect wildlife and generate jobs. [43] Not only is wildlife essential to the development of Zambia's Tourism industry and thus Zambia's economy, but tourism is also essential to the preservation of wildlife in Zambia. [41] The Minister of Tourism and Arts of Zambia stands by the framework defined in expectations and goals set out in the Agenda 2030, an initiative to increase tourism sustainability in Africa. [44]
However, tourism has also been linked to an increase in urbanization within Zambia, at the detriment of the environmentalism efforts. Another challenge of tourism is documented instances of the Dengue Virus being spread throughout the region from other neighboring countries. [45] [46] [47]
As of 1 October 2022, visa requirements were waived for tourists holding a passport from the following countries and territories: [48]
| Country | Gulf States | Europe |
|---|---|---|
 Australia |  Bahrain |  European Union |
 Canada |  Kuwait |  United Kingdom |
 China |  Iraq |  Norway |
 Japan |  Oman | |
 South Korea |  Qatar | |
 United States |  Saudi Arabia | |
 United Arab Emirates |
Most visitors arriving to Zambia were from the following countries of nationality: [49] [50] [51]
| Country | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Tanzania | 169,798 | 118,708 | 206,771 | 161,990 | 222,095 | 166,833 | 219,215 | 184,187 |
 Zimbabwe | 139,881 | 185,154 | 424,921 | 340,263 | 242,848 | 225,527 | 208,962 | 191,048 |
 Democratic Republic of Congo | 75,466 | 48,311 | 108,421 | 82,578 | 96,480 | 96,201 | 89,796 | — |
 South Africa | 36,018 | 28,437 | 92,033 | 94,170 | 92,486 | 94,030 | 98,216 | 87,048 |
 India | 14,944 | 10,960 | 30,789 | 25,505 | 22,337 | 25,517 | 21,117 | 17,136 |
 Mozambique | 14,765 | 12,955 | 23,671 | 19,899 | 19,833 | |||
 Malawi | 12,683 | 13,603 | 26,208 | 32,667 | 28,783 | 31,539 | 29,579 | — |
| United States | 12,256 | 6,120 | 39,930 | 41,390 | 39,121 | 38,496 | 32,625 | 31,826 |
 Kenya | 7,848 | 5,530 | 13,924 | 11,754 | 10,626 | |||
 Botswana | 7,315 | 8,991 | ||||||
| United Kingdom | 7,226 | 8,510 | 27,019 | 34,789 | 43,487 | 36,997 | 31,280 | 32,309 |
| China | 6,918 | 7,696 | 34,400 | 27,796 | 26,562 | 20,648 | 30,831 | 27,603 |
 Namibia | 6,148 | 7,537 | 22,311 | 16,742 | — | |||
 Uganda | 4,175 | |||||||
 Germany | 2,271 | 1,502 | 7,856 | 9,565 | 7,952 | |||
 France | 1,956 | 1,623 | 6,142 | 6,460 | 5,092 | |||
 Netherlands | 1,434 | 1,174 | ||||||
| Canada | 1,244 | 1,406 | 6,786 | 6,911 | 5,311 | |||
 Italy | 933 | 851 | 4,232 | 5,733 | 3,138 | |||
| Australia | 677 | 1,644 | 10,614 | 11,059 | 8,547 | |||
 Denmark | 424 | 379 | 1,670 | 1,764 | 2,225 | |||
| Total | 554,290 | 501,606 | 1,266,427 | 1,072,012 | 1,009,173 | 931,782 | 946,969 | 914,576 |
Zambia is a developing country, and it achieved middle-income status in 2011. Through the first decade of the 21st century, the economy of Zambia was one of the fastest-growing economies in Africa, and its capital, Lusaka, the fastest-growing city in the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Zambia's economic performance has stalled in recent years due to declining copper prices, significant fiscal deficits, and energy shortages.
The Zambezi is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers 1,390,000 km2 (540,000 sq mi), slightly less than half of the Nile's. The 2,574-kilometre-long (1,599 mi) river rises in Zambia and flows through eastern Angola, along the north-eastern border of Namibia and the northern border of Botswana, then along the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe to Mozambique, where it crosses the country to empty into the Indian Ocean.
Victoria Falls is a waterfall on the Zambezi River in southern Africa, which provides habitat for several unique species of plants and animals. It is located on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe and is one of the world's largest waterfalls, with a width of 1,708 m (5,604 ft).
A game reserve is a large area of land where wild animals live safely or are hunted in a controlled way for sport. If hunting is prohibited, a game reserve may be considered a nature reserve; however, the focus of a game reserve is specifically the animals (fauna), whereas a nature reserve is also, if not equally, concerned with all aspects of native biota of the area.
Western Province is one of the 10 provinces in Zambia and encompasses most of the area formerly known as Barotseland. The capital is Mongu, and together with the neighbouring town of Limulunga, Mongu is treated as the capital of Barotseland.
Senanga is the capital of the Senanga District, which is located in the Western Province of Zambia. The town is situated on the eastern bank of the Zambezi River, at the southern end of the Barotse Floodplain. It lies on the main road running parallel to the river from Livingstone and Sesheke to Mongu. Recently the Kaunga Lyeti Bridge was completed to cross the Kaunga Lyeti River near the junction to Sioma, traveling from Sesheke and Katima Mulilo. On top of the bridgework, recent road projects have improved travel conditions and inspired economic confidence and growth.
Southern Province is one of Zambia's ten provinces, and home to Zambia's premier tourist attraction, Mosi-oa-Tunya, shared with Zimbabwe. The centre of the province, the Southern Plateau, has the largest area of commercial farmland of any Zambian province, and produces most of the maize crop.
Sioma Ngwezi National Park is a 5,000-square-kilometre park in the south west corner of Zambia. It is undeveloped and rarely visited, lacking roads and being off the usual tourist tracks, but this may change in the future.
The Barotse Floodplain, also known as the Bulozi Plain, Lyondo or the Zambezi Floodplain, is one of Africa's great wetlands, on the Zambezi River in the Western Province of Zambia. It is a designated Ramsar site, regarded as being of high conservation value.
The T1 or Lusaka–Livingstone Road is the main highway of the Southern Province of Zambia. It begins 55 kilometres south of the city of Lusaka and heads south-west to the principal tourist destination, Victoria Falls in Livingstone, via Mazabuka, Monze, Choma and Kalomo, measuring approximately 430 kilometres (267 mi). The entire route is part of Trans-African Highway network number 4 or Cairo-Cape Town Highway between Cairo and Cape Town.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Zambia:
Botswana's principal tourist attractions are its game reserves, with hunting and photographic safaris available. Other attractions include the Okavango Delta region, which during the rainy season is a maze of waterways, islands, and lakes. The tourism industry also helped to diversify Botswana's economy from traditional sources such as diamonds and beef and created 23,000 jobs in 2005.
Proflight Zambia is an airline based in Lusaka, Zambia that serves the business community and tourism industry. It is a trading name of Proflight Commuter Services Ltd. Proflight Zambia operates the largest fleet of aircraft in Zambia, operating both scheduled and charter flights. The airline has been growing rapidly in recent years and is the largest airline in Zambia by routes served and fleet size.
Kavango–Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area is the second-largest nature and landscape conservation area in the world, spanning the international borders of five countries in Southern Africa. It includes a major part of the Upper Zambezi River and Okavango basins and Delta, the Caprivi Strip of Namibia, the southeastern part of Angola, southwestern Zambia, the northern wildlands of Botswana and western Zimbabwe. The centre of this area is at the confluence of the Zambezi and Chobe Rivers where the borders of Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe meet. It incorporates a number of notable national parks and nature sites, including Chobe National Park, Hwange National Park, and the Victoria Falls. The region is home to a population of approximately 250,000 animals, including the largest population of African Elephants in the world.
Visitors to Zambia must obtain a visa from one of the Zambian diplomatic missions, unless they come from one of the visa exempt countries or countries whose citizens are eligible for visa on arrival. Visitors may alternatively obtain an electronic visa. All visitors must hold a passport valid for at least 6 months. As of November 2014, Zambia and Zimbabwe also offer a universal visa.
The Miss Tourism Zambia is a beauty pageant in Zambia since 2004. The pageant is unrelated to Miss Universe Zambia, Miss World Zambia or Miss Earth Zambia.
The M10 road is a road in Zambia. It goes from Livingstone, through Sesheke and Senanga, to Mongu. The road is approximately 508 kilometres and follows the Zambezi River for its entire length.
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