The future of tourism is digital, women must help lead it

Getrude Chigerwe-Features Correspondent

As artificial intelligence reshapes the global tourism industry, Zimbabwe faces an important question: who will shape, own, and benefit from the emerging digital tourism economy?

Zimbabwe recorded 1 777 569 international arrivals in 2025, a 10 percent increase from the previous year, according to the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry.

While this is a clear sign that the sector is gaining momentum, the measure of success goes beyond tourist arrivals to who shapes, owns and benefits from the digital tourism economy that tourism creates, as the world observes World Tourism Day, celebrated on September 27, under the theme, “Digital Agenda and Artificial Intelligence to Redesign Tourism.”

Nationally, the future of tourism must also place women at the centre.

Under Vision 2030 and the National Development Strategy 2, the Government has positioned tourism as a key driver of economic transformation, employment creation, and community development.

But visitor numbers alone cannot define progress. In an era when travellers discover destinations, compare experiences, make bookings and share memories through digital platforms, growth must also be measured by who has the skills, resources and opportunities to compete in an increasingly digital economy.

Artificial intelligence, digital platforms, data analytics and mobile technologies are reshaping global tourism. Long before a tourist arrives at Victoria Falls, Great Zimbabwe or Hwange National Park, the journey may begin on a phone screen through a search result, social media video, online review, or AI-powered recommendation.

For Zimbabwe, digital transformation presents both an opportunity and a question of inclusion. Gender equality is an economic imperative for building an inclusive and sustainable tourism sector.

Zimbabwe already has a strong foundation. The 2026 Sanganai/Hlanganani/Dzimbahwe World Tourism Expo in Masvingo brought together 405 exhibitors and 153 buyers, while showcasing the province’s tourism and investment potential.

Set against the backdrop of Great Zimbabwe, the expo highlighted the country’s drive to establish itself as a competitive tourism destination, while exploring how digital platforms, artificial intelligence and innovation can enhance the visibility, accessibility and competitiveness of destination Zimbabwe.

The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority and NetOne have entered into a digital transformation partnership aimed at strengthening information and communication technology integration, connectivity and data-driven systems within the tourism sector.

The initiative includes the digitisation of tourism operations and regulatory processes, including inspection, registration and licencing systems, while creating opportunities to leverage Zimbabwe’s National AI Strategy for predictive analytics, real-time data management and innovation.

As Zimbabwe builds this digital tourism ecosystem, the question of who benefits from it cannot be treated as an afterthought.

Women’s participation must be central to this transition. Earlier this year, Victoria Falls hosted the second UN Tourism Regional Congress on Women Empowerment in Tourism in Africa under the theme “Advancing from Empowerment to Leadership: Driving Structural Change in the Tourism Sector in Africa.”

The congress focused on strengthening women’s economic participation, leadership, entrepreneurship, skills development, digital innovation and access to finance, while exploring policy and institutional reforms to advance women’s role in Africa’s tourism sector.

The conversation must now move beyond recognising women’s participation to ensuring that they are equipped, financed and supported to lead in a tourism economy increasingly driven by technology, data and artificial intelligence.

Digital technologies are reshaping women’s participation in tourism. AI can help tour operators personalise services, automate routine tasks and reach global markets, while e-commerce enables craft producers to connect with travellers before and after their visits.

Across agro-tourism and hospitality, digital storytelling, online booking platforms and data-driven insights are helping women market local experiences, strengthen customer engagement and grow their businesses.

AI can lower long-standing barriers for small businesses by making it easier and more affordable for entrepreneurs to perform tasks that once required substantial resources or specialised expertise.

However, these opportunities can only be realised when entrepreneurs have access to the digital tools, connectivity and skills needed to use them effectively.

Access remains uneven. Digital devices, affordable internet, digital literacy, training, finance and markets are still out of reach for many women and communities. Without deliberate action, AI could reinforce existing inequalities, leaving women to host visitors, produce crafts, prepare food and sustain community tourism while remaining excluded from the platforms, technologies, data and investment decisions where an increasing share of the sector’s value is created.

The question, therefore, extends beyond whether women are using technology to whether they are creating digital solutions, leading technology-enabled businesses, accessing investment and influencing the policies and systems that shape the digital economy.

Women’s role in tourism should extend beyond employment to ownership, innovation and leadership. They must be recognised as entrepreneurs, investors, storytellers, employers and decision-makers.

The challenge for Zimbabwe in the AI era is to ensure that women are not merely consumers of technology, but creators of digital solutions, users of data-driven insights and influential voices in determining the future direction of tourism.

Tourism succeeds when communities are part of the value chain, and Zimbabwe’s offering extends far beyond large hotels and international operators. It includes heritage, conservation, agriculture, cultural expression, gastronomy, crafts and locally owned enterprises, many of which already depend heavily on women’s labour, creativity and leadership.

With the right digital support, a craft producer in a rural community can connect with international markets, a local guide can reach travellers directly through online platforms, and a small hospitality business can use data to better understand demand and improve customer experiences.

Digital transformation is, therefore, about more than increasing tourist arrivals. It offers an opportunity to broaden participation and share the benefits of tourism more equitably across the value chain, provided women and local communities are not left behind in the digital transition.

Opening Sanganai/Hlanganani 2026 in Masvingo, President Mnangagwa urged the tourism sector to embrace AI and digital platforms without losing the human and cultural essence of Zimbabwe’s tourism offering.

“In all tech-driven endeavours, the use of Artificial Intelligence and digital platforms should consider the human face and our unique Zimbabwean as well as African culture. Digital tools should complement human roles, rather than replace them,” he said.

His message highlights a simple but important truth: while technology increasingly influences how travellers discover and plan their journeys, it is people, culture, heritage, landscapes, food and authentic experiences that remain at the heart of tourism. Zimbabwe’s advantage lies in harnessing technology to make these experiences more visible, accessible and economically beneficial to local communities.

Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Barbara Rwodzi has championed initiatives that connect women to tourism value chains, supply chains and enterprise development opportunities.

As tourism becomes increasingly digital, women must be empowered to play a greater role as entrepreneurs, innovators and business owners. This requires access to technology, digital skills, finance and leadership opportunities that enable them to shape markets, create platforms and capture the benefits of a rapidly evolving tourism economy.

Zimbabwe’s growing profile on the global tourism stage makes this discussion increasingly urgent. Victoria Falls hosted the 23rd UN Tourism Committee on Sustainable Tourism Meeting in 2026, where the logo for the International Year of Sustainable and Resilient Tourism 2027 was unveiled, linking today’s digital transformation agenda with tomorrow’s sustainability priorities.

If used effectively, AI can help tourism businesses better understand visitor flows, improve resource management, identify emerging markets and support evidence-based decision-making. Yet technology is neither inherently inclusive nor sustainable. Its impact depends on who has access to it, who can afford it, who controls the data it generates, and who has a voice in determining how it is used.

Therefore, World Tourism Day should be a moment for Zimbabwe to connect tourism growth with digital transformation, women’s economic empowerment, youth employment, community development and sustainable tourism. If AI is to truly redesign tourism, women must have the skills to use it, the capital to invest in it, the platforms to benefit from it and the authority to influence how it is deployed.

The transition to a digital tourism economy must not leave women at the margins. Zimbabwe risks creating a sector in which women participate without influence, contribute without ownership and are included without a meaningful voice in shaping its future.

Preventing this outcome requires gender equality to be embedded in tourism policy, in-vestment, innovation and digital transformation from the outset.

The future of Zimbabwean tourism will be determined by who can access the opportunities created by tourism growth, harness emerging technologies and influence the decisions that shape the sector.

The challenge for Zimbabwe is to build a tourism economy that is digital, sustainable and inclusive, while ensuring that women are architects of its future.

The question is no longer whether women have a place in the future of tourism, but whether they will help shape it. In the AI era, Zimbabwe’s tourism success will be measured not only by the number of visitors it attracts, but by whether women are helping to design, lead and own the digital economy that the sector creates.