Zambia is a great tourism investment destination. The tourism industry is one of the fastest growing sectors in Zambia and it has vast potential for exponential growth. The country has abundant natural resources and cultural heritage that can produce enormous returns for any investor with particular interest in the tourism sector. While most of the current tourism activities in the country have been primarily focused around the Victoria Falls, which is locally known as the Mosi-oa-Tunya and natural tourism in 5 national parks namely; South Luangwa, Kafue, Lower Zambezi, Mosi-oa-Tunya and Kasanka National Parks, there are numerous other tourist sites around the country that make great tourism destinations. With the right investment targeted towards areas with great tourism potential in the country, there are tremendous opportunities that exist which can be exploited by both local and foreign investors since many of these sites are under developed in terms of tourism infrastructure yet the sites are endowed with a myriad of natural resources and a rich cultural heritage.
The country has got many beautiful rivers, lakes with beautiful beaches, 20 national parks with abundant wild animals and bird life, heritage sites with world significance as well as a friendly people with diverse cultural and traditional ceremonies. There is also significant Government will to support the growth of the tourism industry, which is evidenced by the huge investment into public infrastructure such as roads, aimed at making the underdeveloped areas with tourism potential more accessible. The Zambian Government has also been making frantic efforts to get more investors to participate in the tourism industry, in the country, as the sector is not yet operating at its full potential.
Investment Destination Situation Analysis
Tourism in Africa is on a rapid growth path as many areas with great tourism potential which had lagged behind in terms of development are being opened up due to the huge investments in public infrastructure that many governments on the continent have embarked on, and Zambia is no exception. In the case of Zambia, the tourism sector has steadily grown over the past decade partly as a result of Government’s support to the tourism industry which has been demonstrated through the opening up of untapped areas for tourism and development such as the Northern part of the country, which has become known as the Northern Circuit. Unlike the Southern and Eastern parts of the country which well known for the famous Victoria Falls and a number of National Parks respectively, the Northern Circuit is endowed with a lot of untapped and underdeveloped natural resources and heritage sites that include little known numerous breath taking water falls found in the region such as the Kalambo, Kundalila, Lumangwe, Kabwelume and Chishimba Water Falls, the watery wilderness of Bangweulu, Sambfya beaches, Mwela Rock Art Paintings National Monument, and Nsumbu National Park located on the shores of Lake Tanganyika.
In order to support the opening up of such areas, Government has invested in an ambitious rollout of road infrastructure development projects to rehabilitate and construct new highway and feeder roads to potential tourism destinations. The infrastructure development includes the rehabilitation of the major international airports which includes the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport in Lusaka, the Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula International Airport in Livingstone as well as the Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport in Ndola, with the aim of accommodating more airplanes to increase the inflow of tourists in the country. The tourism sector is a priority for the Government as it contributes to an increase in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), job creation and tourism infrastructure development.
Government Agencies
As a measure to stay on track to its commitment to the development of the tourism sector, the Government of the Republic of Zambia has among other things mandated two agencies namely, the Zambia Development Agency and the Zambia Tourism Agency, to spearhead the development of the tourism industry in Zambia. The Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) is a statutory body whose objective is to foster economic growth and development by promoting trade and investment in Zambia through an efficient, effective and coordinated private sector led economic growth strategy. The Agency’s mandate involves promoting the investment and competitiveness of businesses in Zambia while working with government to create an investment climate that can propel long term sustainable domestic growth. In the tourism sector in particular, the Agency aims to identify investment opportunities as well as attract and facilitate local and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
The Zambia Tourism Agency (ZTA) on the other hand, is also a statutory body whose main objective is to effectively market and promote Zambia as a preferred tourism and travel destination and to regulate the country’s tourism industry both in local and foreign business environments. In its efforts to market Zambia, the Agency is mandated under the Tourism and Hospitality Act of 2015 to negotiate and enter into agreements relating to tourism marketing and promotion in order to enhance tourist traffic within and into Zambia. Furthermore, in its regulatory functions, the Agency is mandated to work in liaison with other relevant regulatory authorities and agencies to regulate tourism related services and activities. Therefore, the Agency is responsible for the issuance of licenses to all tourism enterprises. It has the responsibility to set standards and carry out inspections to ensure all tourism enterprises conform to the minimum set standards.
This entails that all existing and potential investors wishing to carry any tourism related business operations within the country need to go through both of these agencies in order to get clearance for setting up their operations. It is worth mentioning here that in 2010, the ZDA came up with an initiative of the “One Stop Shops (OSS)” Business Registration whose strategy aimed at providing both local and foreign investors with fast, efficient and business-friendly registration services as a measure to help reduce the cost of doing business. The OSSs bring all the relevant authorities involved in the registration process of businesses under one roof thereby, saving the investors time and money of moving from one place to another to seek the services of the various Government agencies.
Opportunities in our Investment Destination
As already highlighted above, Zambia is a vast country with enormous tourism potential owing to its abundant natural resources and rich cultural heritage. However, many of the areas with great tourism potential still remain untapped and underdeveloped in terms of tourism infrastructure i.e. hotels, holiday resorts, lodges, guesthouses, campsites, theme parks, and conference facilities. The vast tourism potential and the growing demand for tourist products in Zambia, coupled with the Government’s support for the growth of the sector, makes this a great opportunity for the Private Sector to invest in the growing Zambian tourism industry that will guarantee them profitable returns on their investment. Some of the great investment opportunities that are readily available can be summarized as follows;
1. Accommodation; An analysis of the type of tourist that come into the country show that over 40 percent of the tourists who arrive in Zambia come for business purposes. With the projected increase of the inflow of tourists in the country, there is an excellent opportunity for investing in hotels, holiday resorts, lodges, guesthouses as well as campsites in the identified tourist destination areas in the country. Investments in accommodation facilities are ideal in the identified sites as they are around beautiful lakes and rivers which can offer the guests scenic serene surroundings with water-based activities such as boat cruises, fishing and water sports.
Priority will be given to investors who wish to build facilities with a big number of bed spaces ranging from 50 to 500 bed spaces. Furthermore, the country has plans to bid to host major intercontinental and continental conferences, summits, sports events, and other major events which would make investment in such facilities receive a lot of guests starting from business delegates to holiday makers. Even though some of the well-known brands in hotel industry such as Hilton, Radisson Blue, Intercontinental, Royal Livingstone, Taj, Sun, and Protea hotels have seized this opportunity and have invested in the country by setting up new hotels, most of them have set these in the towns around Lusaka and Livingstone, leaving many other areas with great tourism potential without adequate modern accommodation infrastructure where tourists can enjoy their stay while visiting the destinations.
There are many areas ideal for luxurious accommodation facilities that remain untapped around the country such as Samfya where there is beautiful beach along the shores of Lake Bangweulu, areas around Lake Mweru and Tanganyika in the northern part of the country, available areas in the national parks as well as areas along the beautiful rivers of Zambia.
2. Conference Facilities; With the projected increase in the number of business tourists, conferences, and summits, there is an emerging opportunity to invest in conference facilities with a seating capacity of up to 5,000 seats or more. Zambia has also been a convener of a number of international meetings however, most of these meetings have just been restricted to the Mulungushi Conference Centre which is the only conference centre in the country with a large seating capacity and is only found in the capital city Lusaka. There is need for such infrastructure around the country especially in the identified tourism destinations so that the facilities can be used for miscellaneous activities and events.
3. Tour Operations; Zambia is endowed with a lot of natural resources and rich in its cultural heritage. The country has numerous rivers, lakes, wetlands, and water falls which include the breath taking Victoria Falls; one of the seven Natural Wonders of the World and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The country boasts of having 20 National Parks and 34 Game Management Areas with abundant wild animals and birds, over 1,000 heritage sites some of which have rock art paintings, burial sites, architectural sites and caves, as well as over 30 cultural ceremonies that show case indigenous history, dance and music. At the moment there are very few tour operators that offer tourism packages around the various tourist destinations and heritage sites.
The existing operators mainly focus on game drives of which the country is famed for nevertheless, this has created an opportunity for investment in tour operations between the numerous natural and heritage sites across the cities and country, especially in the new areas being opened up as a result of road infrastructure development by the Government. Investors can come up with tour packages around the sites and with the country’s abundance of tourism resources, potential investors will definitely be spoilt of choice in terms of the countless packages that they can come up with.
4. Restaurants; Restaurants in the identified tourism destinations around the country are yet another opportunity for investment that is available owing to the projected increase in the inflow of tourists in Zambia. The tourists will come from all over the world hence there is need for more restaurants that offer a wide variety of cuisines to cater for the diverse backgrounds that the tourists come from. While sampling the local Zambian dishes and foods will be part of many tourists’ agenda while visiting the country, it would be great to have the visitors enjoy some of their favourite meals as they explore the various tourism offerings that Zambian tourism destinations have to provide. Besides, the majority of the currently operating restaurants offer Zambian dishes with only a few proving intercontinental menus.
5. Outdoor and Sporting Activities; Adrenaline packed outdoor activities and sports are one of the drivers that make people visit particular tourist destinations. Zambia being endowed with numerous rivers, lakes, water falls, hills, and valleys therefore has immense potential for investment in great outdoor activities and sports. The hills, which are covered with scenic savannah flora, provide the best sites for challenging mountain biking, horseback riding and hiking trails while the large water bodies which account for mover 35 percent of the water resources in Southern Africa provide for great investment opportunities in water based activities such as white water rafting on the rapids found on many rivers across the country, kayaking, canoeing trails, boat cruising on bigger rivers and lakes, scuba diving on some lakes, as well as swimming and indulging in beach activities along the sandy banks of rivers and lake beaches.
Why Invest in Zambia’s Tourism Sector? The Zambian Government has selected the tourism sector as a priority sector for development as the has enormous potential to grow and bring in the much-needed forex and create employment for the citizens. Government has reaffirmed its commitment to the tourism sector through the Industrialization and Job Creation Strategy (2013) and has embarked on a robust programme to put up supporting infrastructure across the country which includes roads, hospitals, airports and communication facilities.
Through the ZDA, the Government has come up the initiative of the One Stop Shop as a measure to reduce the cost of doing business for both local and foreign investors. Zambia on average also offers competitive labour costs across the Southern Sub-Saharan Region and coupled with this the country has embarked on a vigorous campaign to develop human resources that will provide the necessary skills to work in the growing industry. Zambia is an attractive destination for invest in terms of tourism as it has the potential to blossom into one of the world’s best tourism destinations of choice. Therefore, this is undoubtedly the best time to for any investor to set up business in the growing tourism sector of Zambia.