Tourism at a crossroads

By Mcloyd Chilangiza:

For more than a decade, Innocent Sopani Nyirenda has been promoting tourism in Malawi by turning local cultural heritage into marketable products for both international and domestic visitors.

Nyirenda, a Lilongwe-based tourism advocate, began his career in the hospitality sector working with Ufulu Gardens Hotel and Sunbird Tourism Limited before transitioning into cultural tourism.

His niche has been developing and promoting Malawi’s cultural products and experiences.

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“I have more than 10 years of experience in the tourism industry, mainly within the hospitality sector. In the past five years, I transitioned into cultural tourism, where I focus on developing and promoting Malawi’s cultural products and experiences,” he says.

Through his cultural products venture, Nyirenda works closely with local artisans, transforming traditional crafts into marketable souvenirs.

The initiative, he says, has generated both economic and social benefits.

However, despite the sector’s gains, he discloses that several structural challenges continue to limit growth in the industry.

“Among the most pressing concerns are the country’s foreign exchange framework, high financing costs, poor road networks, policy inconsistencies, inefficient visa systems and rising operational expenses,” he says.

Some industry players have also concurred with Nyirenda that structural reforms and infrastructure investment are needed to maximise the sector’s full benefits.

Malawi Tourism Council Chairperson Justin Dzinkambani says improving road networks linking key tourism destinations would boost the industry by increasing visitor arrivals and domestic tourism spending.

Dzinkambani says private sector participation remains crucial in driving the sector’s growth.

He adds that the tourism industry requires a supportive and enabling policy framework.

“Malawi has huge potential to become a tourism destination of choice. If we improve road infrastructure to tourism destinations, tourism can become a major foreign exchange earner and contribute significantly to the economy across various sectors including leisure tourism, agriculture, mining and religious tourism,” he says.

Data shows that the tourism sector has demonstrated resilience in recent years.

According to the 2026 Malawi Annual Economic Report published by the Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Decentralisation, tourism’s contribution to Malawi’s economy has surpassed pre-pandemic levels.

The sector contributed K559.1 billion to gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019 before dropping to K394.7 billion in 2020 as global travel restrictions disrupted international travel during the Covid pandemic.

However, the industry rebounded to K478.1 billion in 2021 and surged to K865.2 billion in 2024, with projections pegged at over K1 trillion in 2025.

The data also shows that employment in the sector has recovered, with more than 670,000 people employed by 2024.

Treasury data also shows that the industry, through visitor exports which measure international tourist spending, accounted for 13.6 percent of Malawi’s total exports in 2024 compared to just 2 percent in 2020.

In real terms, visitor exports increased from K27.5 billion in 2020 to K54.2 billion in 2024.

Despite these gains, analysts argue that tourism remains underfunded compared to its economic potential.

According to the 2026-27 National Budget Analysis Report by the Economics Association of Malawi and the National Planning Commission, the tourism sector has been allocated K7.5 billion in the development budget under the urbanisation pillar.

Although the allocation exceeds the K2.2 billion projected under the first Malawi Implementation Plan, the tourism sector received only about 1.37 percent of the K395 billion allocated to productive sectors.

Commenting on the development, economist Paul Kwengwere also observed that the allocation is inconsistent with the sector’s economic returns.

Kwengwere noted that tourism has become an increasingly important source of foreign exchange.

“Despite the tiny investment, tourism has shown remarkable growth. In 2024, visitor exports reached 13.6 percent of total exports compared to just 2 percent in 2020. This makes tourism a far more efficient foreign exchange generator than many subsidised agricultural subsectors,” he says.

He warns that low funding levels could undermine Malawi’s aspirations under Malawi 2063.

“The strategy aims to double tourism’s contribution to GDP from 7.7 percent to 14.4 percent. With only 1.37 percent of productive sector funding going to tourism, achieving that target becomes extremely difficult,” Kwengwere says.

In the 2026-27 fiscal year, Lilongwe has allocated K2.17 billion for wildlife management and conservation, K4.6 billion for international tourism promotion and product development in Kasungu National Park as well as the development of public beaches along the shores of Lake Malawi.

An additional K500 million has been allocated to facilitate designs and preparatory works for the Salima Integrated Tourism Resort.