A new strategic roadmap aims to accelerate sustainable tourism growth across Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The roadmap is based on the JLL Tourism Readiness Index, a framework previously applied to over 200 destinations. The analysis provides a data-driven assessment for the four Southern Africa countries. It aims to outline a path for investment, policy action, and tourism product diversification.
The Index uses more than 70 indicators across eight pillars: scale; concentration; leisure, business; urban readiness, safety and security; environmental readiness; and policy and prioritisation. The research underpinning the report was conducted between October 2024 and June 2025.
The roadmap was revealed by Africa’s Eden Tourism Association (Africa’s Eden), in partnership with the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) and commercial real estate and investment management company JLL.
The Index at a glance
The four countries are categorised as dawning developers. These are destinations with strong natural and cultural assets, emerging infrastructure and major upside if strategic investment and policy reforms are pursued.
The Index outlines how each country is positioned within Southern Africa’s tourism landscape and where future opportunities lie:
- Zimbabwe leads on scale and leisure metrics, achieving the highest international arrivals among the four, and has further opportunities for growth in business readiness and governance.
- Zambia is the region’s business-travel leader, with business travel accounting for approximately 63% of tourism spending. The country also scores strongly on urban readiness, presenting immediate opportunities for MICE and bleisure tourism.
- Botswana stands out for its environmental stewardship and strong policy frameworks, with opportunities to further enhance the scale and geographic dispersal of visitors beyond its iconic safari nodes.
- Namibia scores highest on safety and offers a strong value proposition. There are opportunities for targeted investment to further enhance urban and environmental readiness.
“This Index is a living document – a tool for our members, our partners, and all stakeholders in tourism,” says Jillian Blackbeard, Africa’s Eden CEO.
Bernadine Galliver, JLL’s Head of Tourism Advisory for MEA, says: “The Tourism Readiness Index offers a standardised global approach to destination assessment.”
The full report is being made available to government agencies, tourism associations, investors and civil-society partners today, accompanied by regional webinars to turn insights into action.
From status quo to roadmap
Gloria Guevara, WTTC Interim CEO, says: “Designed to facilitate critical conversations between stakeholders, the Index provides a roadmap for unlocking sustainable tourism growth.”
The Index is designed to identify the “delta” between what destinations offer today and what they will need to service future visitors sustainably. According to the organisations behind the research, this means actionable guidance on where to invest so growth is inclusive, climate-sensitive and resilient. Investment options can include air connectivity, road links to visa openness, MICE infrastructure, and product diversification (culture, events, coastal and city experiences).
The following strategic insights for investment and policy are provided:
- Air connectivity and scale: Zimbabwe and Zambia show stronger seat capacity and route networks; Botswana and Namibia need targeted route development to unlock new markets and reduce over-reliance on a few nodes.
- Product diversification: All four countries rely heavily on leisure/wildlife. The Index highlights immediate opportunities to grow culture, adventure, city breaks and MICE to smooth seasonality and extend average length of stay.
- Sustainability and resilience: Botswana leads on environmental readiness but each country needs a clear tourism resilience strategy. This includes protected-area finance and encouraging more hotels to adopt sustainability standards.
- Visa and policy levers: Updating visa regimes and creating coordinated regional travel corridors (SADC cooperation) would materially improve multi-country itineraries and boost arrivals.