Online Reporter
Rumbidzayi Zinyuke
Senior Reporter
ONLINE accommodation hosts in Zimbabwe will be required to register and obtain licences from the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) under the newly gazetted Tourism Act, 2026, bringing the growing digital accommodation market under formal tourism regulation.
The law requires booking platforms to ensure that properties listed on their sites are operated by registered and licensed hosts, while existing platforms and hosts will have 90 days after the Act comes into force to comply.
The new law also gives ZTA stronger enforcement powers, including shutting down unregistered tourism facilities and inspecting premises and records to check compliance.
The Act states that “no person shall conduct or operate that designated tourist facility unless it is registered and graded” where such registration is required.
The legislation also establishes the Zimbabwe Tourism Fund to support tourism promotion, development and infrastructure, but its provisions will only take effect on a date to be proclaimed by the President through a statutory instrument.
