Online Reporter
Business Reporter
Zimbabwe experienced a significant increase in international visitors during the third quarter of 2025, comprising mainly business and holiday travellers, according to the latest Government data.
This comes against a rapidly improving business environment and growing macroeconomic stability due to the Government’s business-friendly policies.
Figures released by the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat) show that the number of visitors arriving for business jumped by nearly 43 percent compared to the same period last year, rising from 82 454 to 118 496.
Holidaymakers remain the largest single group of travellers after an 18 percent jump to 256 143 between July and September 2025, up from 217 651 in the third quarter of 2024.
Overall, the country welcomed 520 751 visitors from abroad in the quarter under review, marking a 15 percent year-on-year increase from the 454 043 recorded in 2024. When combined with returning residents, total arrivals reached 1 381 554.
“The report provides comprehensive statistics on visitors from abroad. The data offers valuable insights into the volume and patterns of international mobility in the country,” said Tafadzwa Bandama, the director-general of ZimStat in the preface to the report.
“International migration statistics play a critical role in national planning and policy formulation. They contribute essential inputs for estimating population growth, generating key indicators for migration and quantifying the magnitude and direction of migration flows,” she said.
The sharp rise in business travel underscores growing international engagement, while the steady growth in tourism highlights the country’s continued appeal as a foreign and domestic leisure destination. However, the data revealed a stark decline in other categories. Visitors coming for educational purposes plummeted by 76 percent, falling to just 2 438.
Those arriving for shopping also decreased by nearly 19 percent. The majority of visitors, 58,9 percent, originated from fellow African nations, representing a 21 percent increase during the quarter under review.
South Africa was the single largest source market, providing 77 541 visitors, followed by Mozambique (53 995) and Zambia (47 792).
Travellers from Europe and the Americas also constituted significant portions, at 17, 1 percent and 10,2 percent of the total, respectively.
The statistics indicate a post-pandemic recovery trend solidifying, with economic and leisure travel leading Zimbabwe’s reintegration into global movement patterns.
Zimbabwe’s ambitious tourism target is to achieve a US$10 billion tourism economy by 2030, building on successes from surpassing the previous US$5 billion goal in 2024, driven by heritage tourism, infrastructure upgrades (airports, roads), enhanced marketing, and a new 2025-2030 policy focusing on sustainability, digital integration, and leveraging unique sites like Victoria Falls. Zimbabwe’s 2025-2030 Tourism and Hospitality Industry Policy is expected to anchor this growth, focusing on sustainability, innovation and heritage.
The main pillars of this growth are heritage-based tourism, leveraging strategic sites like Victoria Falls and Great Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe generated over US$1,2 billion in 2024 revenue after welcoming over 1,6 million international visitors, while it attracted significant investments, exceeding US$190,5 million in 2024.
