Zimbabwe to recalibrate tourism statistics, counting diaspora visits as tourist arrivals

BusinessNewsBy Nyasha ChumaHarare — The Zimbabwean government last week announced that it will overhaul its tourism data collection by officially counting visits from the country’s diaspora as tourist arrivals, a move aimed at correcting a long standing statistical gap and presenting a more accurate picture of the sector’s economic impact.Speaking on the ZFN Capital Friday at the Drinks programme, Finance Permanent Secretary George Guvamatanga confirmed that diaspora members, previously recorded only as returning residents but will now be reflected in tourism numbers potentially raising official arrival figures substantially.The recalibration is backed by a ZiG 339.4 million allocation in the 2026 National Budget for marketing and infrastructure upgrades including road and airport improvements designed to support increased visitor traffic to key sites such as Victoria Falls and Kariba.Leave a ReplyCancel reply BusinessNewsBy Nyasha ChumaHarare — The Zimbabwean government last week announced that it will overhaul its tourism data collection by officially counting visits from the country’s diaspora as tourist arrivals, a move aimed at correcting a long standing statistical gap and presenting a more accurate picture of the sector’s economic impact.Speaking on the ZFN Capital Friday at the Drinks programme, Finance Permanent Secretary George Guvamatanga confirmed that diaspora members, previously recorded only as returning residents but will now be reflected in tourism numbers potentially raising official arrival figures substantially.The recalibration is backed by a ZiG 339.4 million allocation in the 2026 National Budget for marketing and infrastructure upgrades including road and airport improvements designed to support increased visitor traffic to key sites such as Victoria Falls and Kariba. Harare — The Zimbabwean government last week announced that it will overhaul its tourism data collection by officially counting visits from the country’s diaspora as tourist arrivals, a move aimed at correcting a long standing statistical gap and presenting a more accurate picture of the sector’s economic impact.

Speaking on the ZFN Capital Friday at the Drinks programme, Finance Permanent Secretary George Guvamatanga confirmed that diaspora members, previously recorded only as returning residents but will now be reflected in tourism numbers potentially raising official arrival figures substantially. The recalibration is backed by a ZiG 339.4 million allocation in the 2026 National Budget for marketing and infrastructure upgrades including road and airport improvements designed to support increased visitor traffic to key sites such as Victoria Falls and Kariba.