# Tourism in Zambia

"none" is preferred when the title is already sufficiently detailed; see [[WP:SDNONE]] Tourism in Zambia relates to tourism in the African nation Zambia. The tourism industry is a major and growing industry in Zambia. Zambia has more than 2500 lions along with several National parks, waterfalls, lakes, rivers, and historic monuments. Zambia has been involved in several agreements on tourism with nations like Uganda and Kenya. Uganda Ministry of Tourism and Arts said Zambia is a model in tourism in Africa. Zambia Tourism Agency (ZTA) has partnered with the Government through the Ministry of Tourism and private sector to enhance the marketing aspect in the tourism industry.

## Overview

Zambia's tourism industry is one of the country's growth potential areas. It has been given the non-traditional export status and is receiving a lot of support from the Government by way of infrastructure development, promotion of increased private sector participation, as well as attractive tax incentives for all investments in the sector.
Hunting is also an important part of the Zambian tourist industry. Though the country banned all hunting in January 2013 amid concerns of corruption and over hunting of certain species, it legalized hunting again for most species of plains game in 2014. Additionally, the Zambian Tourism Minister announced that leopards may be legally hunted starting in 2015 and lions may be hunted again beginning in 2016.

## Tourist Attractions

Major and Popular Tourist Attractions including their Locations :
| Name of Attraction | Location | Closest Airport | Note(s) |
| Victoria Falls | Livingstone, Southern Province | Harry Mwanga Nkumbula International Airport | One of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. Locally known as Mosi-oa-Tunya |
| Lake Kariba | Southern Province | Harry Mwanga Nkumbula International Airport | World's second largest man-made Reservoir at 5,580 square kilometres |
| Livingstone Crocodile Park | Livingstone, Southern Province | Harry Mwanga Nkumbula International Airport | |
| Livingstone Museum | Livingstone, Southern Province | Harry Mwanga Nkumbula International Airport | Country's oldest museum and holds letters & journals of David Livingstone |
| Siavonga | Siavonga, Southern Province | Harry Mwanga Nkumbula International Airport | |
| Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park | Southern Province | Harry Mwanga Nkumbula International Airport | |
| Kalambo Falls | Luapula Province | Mansa Airport | |
| Lake Bangweulu | Luapula Province | Mansa Airport | |
| Lumangwe Falls | Luapula and Northern Provinces | Mansa Airport | Largest waterfall wholly within the country, with a height of 30–40 m and a width of 100–160 m |
| Mumbuluma Falls | Luapula Province | Mansa Airport | |
| Musonda Falls | Luapula Province | Mansa Airport | |
| Mweru Wantipa National Park | Luapula and Northern Provinces | Mansa Airport | |
| Ntumbachushi Falls | Luapula Province | Mansa Airport | Cascading Waterfall and pools stretching 2 km above 2 parallel, 10m wide, 30m deep main falls |
| Samfya Beach | Samfya, Luapula Province | Mansa Airport | Dozens of kilometers of White Sand Beach |
| Chilambwe Falls | Northern Province | Kasama Airport | |
| Chishimba Falls | Kasama, Northern Province | Kasama Airport | |
| Isangano National Park | Northern Province | Kasama Airport | Found in the Bangweulu Wetlands |
| Kabwelume Falls | Northern Province | Kasama Airport | |
| Lavushi Manda National Park | Northern Province | Kasama Airport | Found in the Bangweulu Wetlands |
| Moto Moto Museum | Mbala, Northern Province | Kasama Airport | |
| Nsumbu National Park | Northern Province | Kasaba Bay Airport | |
| Kasaba Bay | Northern Province | Kasaba Bay Airport | In Nsumbu National Park, |
| Kafue National Park | North-Western Province | Kenneth Kaunda International Airport | Largest national park in Zambia, covering an area of about 22,400 km$^2$ |
| West Lunga National Park | North-Western Province | Solwezi Airport | |
| Zambezi Source | Mwinilunga, North-Western Province | Solwezi Airport | Source of the Zambezi river and a botanical reserve, part of Zambezi Source National Forest. |
| Blue Lagoon National Park | Central Province | Kenneth Kaunda International Airport | |
| Lunsemfwa Wonder Gorge and Bell Point | Mkushi, Central Province | Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport | |
| Kasanka National Park | Central Province | Mansa Airport | |
| Kapishya Hotsprings | Mpika, Muchinga Province | Kasama Airport | |
| Kundalila Falls | Muchinga Province | Mansa Airport | |
| North Luangwa National Park | Muchinga Province | Mfuwe Airport | |
| Nyika National Park | Muchinga Province | Mfuwe Airport | |
| South Luangwa National Park | Muchinga Province | Mfuwe Airport | |
| Mfuwe Lodge | Muchinga Province | Mfuwe Airport | A safari lodge overlooking Mfuwe Lagoon in South Luangwa National Park |
| Chembe Bird Sanctuary | Kitwe, Copperbelt Province | Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport | |
| Nsobe Game Park | Copperbelt Province | Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport | |
| Happy Land Amusement Park | Chongwe, Lusaka Province | Kenneth Kaunda International Airport | Amusement Park |
| Lochinvar National Park | Lusaka Province | Kenneth Kaunda International Airport | |
| Lolebezi Safari Lodge | Lusaka Province | Kenneth Kaunda International Airport | |
| Lower Zambezi National Park | Lusaka Province | Kenneth Kaunda International Airport | |
| Lusaka National Museum | Lusaka, Lusaka Province | Kenneth Kaunda International Airport | Museum |
| Lusaka National Park | Lusaka, Lusaka Province | Kenneth Kaunda International Airport | |
| Munda Wanga Environmental Park | Chilanga, Lusaka Province | Kenneth Kaunda International Airport | |
| TAZARA Memorial Park | Chongwe, Lusaka Province | Kenneth Kaunda International Airport | Museum |
| Barotse Floodplain | Western Province | Mongu Airport | |
| Chavuma Falls | Western Province | Lukulu Airport | |
| Liuwa Plain National Park | Western Province | Lukulu Airport | |
| Ngonye Falls | Western Province | Lukulu Airport | Also known as Sioma Falls |
| Sioma Ngwezi National Parks | Western Province | Sesheke Airport | |

## Governmental Policies Regarding Tourism

Due to Zambia's poor economic status, the country has historically relied on foreign aid in an attempt to alleviate poverty. Tourism has emerged in recent years as an alternate method to mining to boost Zambia's economy.
Tourism is being seen by Zambia's government as a tool for economic and rural development, as it generates income, creates jobs, promotes wildlife conservation, and improves standards of living.
The increasingly popular worldwide phenomena adventure tourism has also risen in popularity within Zambia, especially within the city of Livingstone, which is now becoming known as Africa's "adventure tourism capital".
Since tourism as an economic sector is boosted with cooperation between neighboring countries, Zambia, as a member of the South African Development Community (SADC), has cooperated with other countries within the SADC in order to mutually attract tourists.
Zambia, along with fellow SADC nations, have struggled to compete with other nations with more established tourist destinations, for a variety of reasons, some of which include difficulty in transportation to the countries, an absence of direct international flights, and failure to create attractive tourist experiences or products.

### Efforts to Promote Tourism

As a member of the SADC,Zambia engaged in the following efforts to promote tourism.
SADC Tourism Protocol 1998 - Member countries are urged to create a "Univisa" that would allow tourists to travel across the borders of SADC countries freely. After initial success, in November 2014, Zambia and Zimbabwe signed a memorandum of understanding to put into effect a more permanent UNIVISA which allows tourists to visit both countries with a single visa.
Regional Tourism Organization of South Africa (RETOSA) 2002 - In an attempt to make the SADC more appealing to visitors, the charter imposed upon member states of SADC a series of protocols and programs to promote the region.
Zambia is currently struggling to facilitate tourism without creating a burden on local communities that would result in a loss of culture, an unstable economy, and compromised environment.

## Tourism as a form of wildlife conservation

An increase in sport hunting and ecotourism has resulted in an increase in wildlife populations in South African countries such as Zambia. Since Zambia is home to so many national parks, waterfalls, and game management areas, most of Zambia's tourism is dependent on wildlife. Ecotourism within Zambia, while devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic, has played a major role in controlling poaching and bringing in foreign investment for wildlife protection.
One U.N. Development Programme, the Lion's Share, announced recently its commitment to grant $400,000 towards wildlife-based tourism in Zambia, in order to protect wildlife and generate jobs. Not only is wildlife essential to the development of Zambia's Tourism industry and thus Zambia's economy, but tourism is also essential to the preservation of wildlife in Zambia. The Minister of Tourism and Arts of Zambia stands by the framework defined in expectations and goals set out in the Agenda 2030, an initiative to increase tourism sustainability in Africa.
However, tourism has also been linked to an increase in urbanization within Zambia, at the detriment of the environmentalism efforts. Another challenge of tourism is documented instances of the Dengue Virus being spread throughout the region from other neighboring countries.

## Gallery

* Victoria Falls Bridge
* Lusaka National Museum
* Victoria Falls
* South Luangwa National Park
* Lumangwe Falls
* Ntumbachushi Falls
* Kafue National Park
* Ngonye Falls
* Mfuwe Sunset
* Samfya Beach
* Zambezi River at junction of Zambia, Namibia, Zimbabwe & Botswana
* Hippopotamus in the Zambezi River
* Chisimba Falls
* Lake Kariba in Siavonga
* Bangweulu Wetlands

## Visa Regulations

As of 1 October 2022, visa requirements were waived for tourists holding a passport from the following countries and territories:
| Country | Gulf States | Europe |
| Australia | Bahrain | European Union |
| Canada | Kuwait | United Kingdom |
| China | Iraq | Norway |
| Japan | Oman | |
| South Korea | Qatar | |
| United States | Saudi Arabia | |
| | United Arab Emirates | |

## Arrivals by country

Most visitors arriving to Zambia were from the following countries of nationality:
| Country | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 |
| Tanzania | 169,798 | 118,708 | 206,771 | 161,990 | 222,095 | 166,833 | 219,215 | 184,187 |
| Zimbabwe | 139,881 | 185,154 | 424,921 | 340,263 | 242,848 | 225,527 | 208,962 | 191,048 |
| Democratic Republic of Congo | 75,466 | 48,311 | 108,421 | 82,578 | 96,480 | 96,201 | 89,796 | — |
| South Africa | 36,018 | 28,437 | 92,033 | 94,170 | 92,486 | 94,030 | 98,216 | 87,048 |
| India | 14,944 | 10,960 | 30,789 | 25,505 | 22,337 | 25,517 | 21,117 | 17,136 |
| Mozambique | 14,765 | 12,955 | 23,671 | 19,899 | 19,833 | | | |
| Malawi | 12,683 | 13,603 | 26,208 | 32,667 | 28,783 | 31,539 | 29,579 | — |
| United States | 12,256 | 6,120 | 39,930 | 41,390 | 39,121 | 38,496 | 32,625 | 31,826 |
| Kenya | 7,848 | 5,530 | 13,924 | 11,754 | 10,626 | | | |
| Botswana | 7,315 | 8,991 | | | | | | |
| United Kingdom | 7,226 | 8,510 | 27,019 | 34,789 | 43,487 | 36,997 | 31,280 | 32,309 |
| China | 6,918 | 7,696 | 34,400 | 27,796 | 26,562 | 20,648 | 30,831 | 27,603 |
| Namibia | 6,148 | 7,537 | | | | 22,311 | 16,742 | — |
| Uganda | 4,175 | | | | | | | |
| Germany | 2,271 | 1,502 | 7,856 | 9,565 | 7,952 | | | |
| France | 1,956 | 1,623 | 6,142 | 6,460 | 5,092 | | | |
| Netherlands | 1,434 | 1,174 | | | | | | |
| Canada | 1,244 | 1,406 | 6,786 | 6,911 | 5,311 | | | |
| Italy | 933 | 851 | 4,232 | 5,733 | 3,138 | | | |
| Australia | 677 | 1,644 | 10,614 | 11,059 | 8,547 | | | |
| Denmark | 424 | 379 | 1,670 | 1,764 | 2,225 | | | |
| Total | 554,290 | 501,606 | 1,266,427 | 1,072,012 | 1,009,173 | 931,782 | 946,969 | 914,576 |