Online Reporter
Rutendo Nyeve [email protected]
ZIMBABWE has formally codified tourism promotion as a central pillar of its foreign policy, with foreign missions now mandated to act as strategic economic hubs to attract investment and drive international visitor arrivals, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Professor Amon Murwira has said.
Speaking at the recent 2nd UN Regional Congress on Women Empowerment in Tourism in Africa held in Victoria Falls, Professor Murwira said President Mnangagwa views tourism as a key instrument for achieving Vision 2030.
“Under the leadership of His Excellency the President, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade has officially codified a foreign policy that prioritises attracting investment and driving international tourism growth to achieve the goals of Vision 2030,” said Prof Murwira.
The Minister outlined three guiding doctrines that now shape Zimbabwe’s international posture in support of tourism.
He said the first, Friend to All and Enemy to None, is designed to create a predictable and stable international image. The second, Zimbabwe is Open for Business, has transformed embassies and missions into active economic outposts.
“Foreign missions are now mandated to act as strategic economic hubs that actively promote Zimbabwe as a top tourism destination,” Prof Murwira said. The third doctrine, Sovereignty and Peace, emphasises that national stability is a prerequisite for a thriving tourism sector.
“There can be no connectivity without peace,” he said.
Prof Murwira positioned tourism as a direct beneficiary of Zimbabwe’s peaceful international engagement.
He told delegates that tourism-related objectives are now embedded in the country’s codified foreign policy framework.
These include driving growth as a primary tool for the war on poverty, managing the national image through diplomacy, and collaborating with international partners on climate resilience to protect natural tourism assets such as Victoria Falls.
To demonstrate these efforts, Prof Murwira cited Zimbabwe’s participation at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where the Open for Business policy is regularly highlighted, alongside the country’s recognition by Forbes as a top destination for 2025.
He said early this year, Zimbabwe conducted a historic diplomatic tour of the Pacific, including Fiji and the Solomon Islands and the Caribbean, visiting Barbados and the Dominican Republic, to foster new partnerships in tourism and climate resilience.
“We recognise that a thriving tourism sector requires a peaceful and predictable international environment, supported by appropriate regional integration frameworks and strong investment, in line with ‘Zimbabwe is Open for Business,” he said.
The Congress, which brought together tourism ministers, UN officials, and private sector leaders from across Africa, also heard that Zimbabwe’s foreign policy goal of promoting international tourism is fully aligned with the Tourism and Hospitality Industry Policy (2025‑2030). “Tourism, when structured through value addition, innovation, and inclusion, becomes a key instrument for achieving this objective,” he said.
He extended his gratitude to the Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Barbara Rwodzi, for successfully organising the Congress, and acknowledged the strategic importance of the Women in Tourism Leadership Africa Committee (WITLAC) as a continental mechanism for policy advocacy and accountability.
