African tourism destinations must move beyond competing for individual visitors and instead work together to market the continent as one integrated destination, Deputy Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry Tongai Mnangagwa has advised.
Mnangagwa made the call during the Tourism Boards and Enablers CEOs Roundtable held in Masvingo ahead of the 19th Sanganai/Hlanganani/Dzimbahwe World Tourism Expo, running from September 9 to 12.
The roundtable brought together tourism boards, regulators, private-sector operators and other industry enablers from Zimbabwe and across the region to discuss joint destination marketing, investment, air connectivity, business events, digital transformation and sustainable tourism.
The Deputy Minister said African countries possessed different but complementary tourism products that could be packaged into multi-destination itineraries to boost visitors’ length of stay and spending on the continent.
“We need to recognise that although our destinations may compete for tourists, we ultimately need each other. Africa has diverse and authentic tourism products that complement one another, and we should use that diversity to encourage visitors to travel across our countries. A tourist should be able to arrive in Zimbabwe, travel to Botswana, Zambia, Kenya or South Africa and experience something different in each destination. Our responsibility is to make movement easier, market these destinations jointly and create tourism circuits that increase length of stay and economic benefits across Africa. Collaboration must move beyond agreements and meetings and become practical programmes that deliver real value to communities and businesses,” Mnangagwa said.
His remarks come as Zimbabwe intensifies efforts to position itself as a multi-destination tourism hub, with government promoting heritage-based tourism, sports tourism, gastronomy and meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE).
The 2026 Sanganai/Hlanganani/Dzimbahwe programme has placed regional cooperation at the centre of discussions, with stakeholders examining joint international trade-show participation, shared tourism products, regional circuits, common source markets and combined MICE bids.
Zimbabwe Tourism Authority chief executive Dr George Manyaya said the country’s strategy was increasingly focused on exposing international buyers to the breadth of its tourism offering, rather than concentrating demand around traditional flagship destinations.
He said Sanganai had become an important platform for connecting Zimbabwean products with international markets while creating opportunities for investment and business development.
“Our focus is to position Zimbabwe as a destination with diverse experiences that can keep visitors in the country longer and encourage them to explore beyond the traditional gateways. Sanganai gives us an opportunity to bring buyers directly into the destination, expose them to our heritage, wildlife, culture, gastronomy and emerging tourism products, and allow them to develop packages that benefit different communities. We also recognise that Zimbabwe does not operate in isolation. By working with neighbouring destinations and tourism boards, we can create stronger regional circuits, share markets and present Africa as a compelling multi-destination experience,” Manyaya said.
He described the 2026 Sanganai edition as a platform combining exhibitions with investment conferences and a gastronomy masterclass, which ran alongside the CEOs’ roundtable addressing challenges and opportunities across the region’s tourism sector.
ZTA has also been strengthening regional ties, including discussions on joint marketing of Victoria Falls with Zambia and broader multi-destination development.
The roundtable heard that regional collaboration could extend beyond marketing to air connectivity, visa facilitation, border management, hotel standards, business events and investment promotion.
Private-sector representatives argued that increased investment should not be viewed as a threat to existing operators but as an opportunity to expand destination capacity. The hospitality sector called for greater standardisation of accommodation grading across African destinations so international visitors have predictable service expectations when moving between countries.
Stakeholders also highlighted the need to ease cross-border movement and develop multi-country packages, with Namibia sharing its experience of building a destination brand around its desert landscapes, conservation and community-based natural resource management. The Namibian representative said destinations should first identify what makes them unique, then build experiences around those assets, while keeping conservation and community benefits central to tourism development.
Discussions also emphasised heritage, culture and authenticity as major competitive advantages for African destinations. For Zimbabwe, these include Victoria Falls, Great Zimbabwe, Matobo, Gonarezhou, Hwange, gastronomy and cultural experiences, with international buyers currently being exposed to several of these sites as part of the Sanganai programme.
Recent ZTA figures point to growing international interest in the expo, with the authority reporting a significant rise in international buyers from the previous edition. Business Times also reported increased buyer confirmations for the 2026 event, alongside investment conferences and the gastronomy masterclass.
The roundtable identified air connectivity and travel costs as critical to tourism competitiveness, with stakeholders calling for stronger regional aviation cooperation, more direct routes and lower barriers to movement.
Mnangagwa has separately urged Air Zimbabwe to maintain its newly introduced Harare-Masvingo route beyond Sanganai, arguing that sustained connectivity would be critical to unlocking Masvingo’s tourism and investment potential.
Discussions were moderated by Emmah Kativu, Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe president and Tourism Business Council of Zimbabwe vice-president, with participants including tourism authorities, hotel groups, regulators, financial institutions and other tourism-sector stakeholders.
