By Jonathan Mbiriyamveka
For years, Zimbabwean families dreamed of cross-border holidays – the bright lights of Johannesburg, the beaches of Durban, the malls of Gaborone.
But something shifted in early 2026.
Domestic tourism trips jumped to an estimated 2.62 million in the first quarter, up from 1.94 million the same period last year – a 35 percent increase that has caught even industry watchers by surprise.
The government’s First Quarter Performance Report attributes the rise to three things: social travel (visiting friends and relatives), religious tourism, and study tourism.
But behind the data are real stories.
Take the Murwira family from Harare’s Greendale suburb. Instead of their usual April trip to South Africa, they booked a week at a lodge in Nyanga.
“Fuel was too expensive, and we heard the roads to Beitbridge were terrible,” said Tafadzwa Murwira, a father of three.
“We ended up spending less than half of what we would have spent in Joburg, and the kids had a blast at the waterfall.”
Then there are the church groups. Religious tourism has become a quiet engine of domestic travel, with thousands of Zimbabweans crisscrossing the country for all-night prayers, Easter conferences, and pilgrimages to places like Bikita and Mutemwa.
“We traveled from Harare to Masvingo for a church convention – 12 buses full,” said Eunice Chikwanha, a member of a Pentecostal congregation.
“We stayed for four days. The hotel owners were very happy to see us.”
The report singles out Manicaland and Mashonaland East as big winners in hotel occupancy, with Manicaland jumping from 27 percent to 42 percent – a 15 percentage point gain. Mashonaland East rose from 8 percent to 19 percent.
Major urban centers, meanwhile, lost ground. Harare occupancy fell from 48 to 45 percent, while Bulawayo dipped from 37 to 36 percent. Zimbabweans, it seems, are choosing the mountains and countryside over the cities.
The domestic tourism surge is not just a feel-good story. It offers a buffer against global shocks. As the report notes, Zimbabwe’s domestic market is expected to “anchor the sector’s growth” especially if geopolitical tensions continue to disrupt international travel.
For families like the Murwiras, that’s just fine.
“We’re already planning our next local trip,” Tafadzwa said. “Maybe Great Zimbabwe this time. Why spend money on a passport when we haven’t even seen our own country?”
About Author
