Tour Operators question Govt. tourism figures, cite lack of flights and data gaps

By Chali Mulenga, Livingstone, Southern Province, Zambia

The Zambian Association of Indigenous Tour Operators (ZAITO) has challenged government claims that Zambia received more than 2.5 million tourist arrivals, arguing that the figures do not reflect realities on the ground and risk misleading policymakers and investors.

ZAITO president Dr. Patson Chifumbe said tour operators, particularly ground handlers in Livingstone, were not experiencing traffic consistent with the Ministry of Tourism’s projections, despite repeated official pronouncements of strong growth in arrivals and revenue.

Dr. Chifumbe told journalists that while Livingstone was often cited as a major beneficiary of increased arrivals, the figures appeared inflated by the inclusion of domestic travellers and border crossings that had little to do with tourism.

“When people talk about arrivals in Livingstone, they are also counting domestic tourism. People coming from the Copperbelt, Lusaka and other parts of the country are arrivals for us locally, but that does not necessarily mean international tourism growth,” Dr. Chifumbe said.

Dr. Chifumbe questioned how Zambia could be recording millions of arrivals when key destinations such as Livingstone lacked sufficient airline connectivity.

“We don’t have enough airlines flying into Livingstone. Without flights, how are we landing these numbers? In the past, when traffic was high, it was visible. You could see activity on the ground. That is no longer the case,” Dr. Chifumbe said.

Dr. Chifumbe further argued that the current method of counting arrivals at borders was flawed, as everyone entering the country was classified as an arrival, regardless of purpose.

“Not everyone crossing our borders is coming to consume a tourism product. People come for trade, family visits and many other reasons, yet they are all counted as tourists,” Dr. Chifumbe said.

Dr. Chifumbe also raised concerns that tourists were being counted multiple times as they moved between destinations such as Lusaka, South Luangwa, Kafue and Livingstone, inflating national statistics.

“The same person can be captured three or four times by different properties and destinations. That definitely inflates the numbers,” Dr. Chifumbe said.

He said many accommodation providers were reporting very low occupancy levels, a situation that contradicted official statistics.

“If you speak to individual properties, most of them will tell you they have almost nothing. So when a blanket figure is given, we wonder where it is coming from and who is actually handling this traffic,” Dr. Chifumbe said.

Dr. Chifumbe also questioned reported tourism revenue figures, saying claims that the sector earned about US$700 million were difficult to reconcile with earlier reports of revenues closer to US$10 million.

“That is a very big jump. If it is true, it would be a major improvement, but we don’t know how those figures were arrived at,” Dr. Chifumbe said.

Dr. Chifumbe warned that overstating performance could harm the sector by distorting government planning, taxation and budget allocations.

“If the ministry projects that all is well, other ministries, including Finance and ZRA, will expect higher tax returns. When those returns don’t materialise, it creates a breakdown. It also makes it harder for the tourism ministry to argue for more investment and support,” he said.

Dr. Chifumbe called for a new data collection system that relied on direct reporting from accommodation providers and tourism operators, rather than border statistics alone.

“Using borders is not working. The properties should feed information into a central system so we can know the actual numbers,” he said.

Dr. Chifumbe criticised what he described as selective engagement by the Ministry of Tourism, saying small and indigenous operators were being excluded from key consultations.

“The ministry is talking to a certain group of people, mainly associations linked to charter planes and large operators. As ZAITO, we have never been engaged, yet I am the president,” he said.

Dr. Chifumbe described it as “paradoxical and unwarranted” that some tourism associations publicly claimed the industry was doing well, while their individual members privately admitted business was poor.

“Appeasement and fear should not be part of information narration. This is business. We need to tell the truth so that the right interventions can be made,” Dr. Chifumbe said.

Dr. Chifumbe urged the ministry to engage all stakeholders, including small operators, and to collaborate more closely with regional tourism players in countries such as Kenya, Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa to improve marketing and access.

“We are small players individually, but together we move big numbers. We need to be part of generating tourism information and shaping the narrative if this industry is to grow,” Dr. Chifumbe said.