The tourism sector added 70 000 new jobs in 2024 following rising investment, which reached K62.7 billion as operators continue with post Covid-19 recovery.
The data from the Ministry of Tourism, quoted in the 2025 Government Annual Economic Report reflects sustained boom in a sector that is one of President Lazarus Chakwera’s priorities under Agriculture, Tourism and Mining (ATM) Strategy.
Reads the report in part: “In 2023, the contribution of travel and tourism to investment had increased to K57.6 billion and is projected to reach K62.7 billion in 2024, representing a nine percent growth of the sector’s contribution to investment.
“The investments in the tourism sector are expected to increase further as tourism investment projects in the Malawi National Investment Master plan are being promoted to both national and international investors.”
Treasury data show a four percent disinvestment in capital at K50.8 billion in 2021 from K55.5 billion in 2020, due to travel restrictions and border closures following the Covid-19 pandemic.
The improved investment level impacted positively on job creation as both direct and indirect employment is projected at 670 000 in 2024 from 600 000 in 2023 and well above pre pandemic levels of 586 000 in 2019.
“The decline continued steadily reaching a record low of 496 200 thousand jobs in 2022,” reads the report in part.
Following this recovery, the sector’s contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) has more than doubled in 2024 at K865.2 billion from K394.7 billion during the pandemic period in 2020 while surpassing the 2019 pre pandemic feat of K559.1 billion.
In an interview on Tuesday, Malawi Institute of Tourism head of travel and tourism Dennis Magodi said the report reflects the actual picture as most industry players, including itinerary operators, have experienced booming business.
However, Magodi stressed that Malawi tourism sector is yet to fully recover as the pandemic affected the sector’s revenue streams and it is still trying to catch up with regional neighbours though strong progress is underway.
He said: “Although the recovery is significant, we are still lagging behind compared to other countries because of visa restrictions which remain for tourists from other countries.
“If you see, Zambia and Kenya removed visa restrictions to tourists from many countries which make them more attractive to tourists.”
A travel itinerary expert Innocent Kaliati of Orbis DMC concurred with Magodi on the lagged pandemic effects, which he said would take some time for the sector to fully recover from.
“Malawian operators need to position themselves as green businesses focusing more on sustainable tourism and serious about health and safety, then traffic will come,” he said.
In an earlier interview, Malawi Tourism Council executive director Memory Momba-Kamthunzi observed that tourists’ traffic has increased since the waiver of visa fees to some countries, but that connectivity infrastructure challenges remain a barrier.
She said: “We still feel there is need to improve our connectivity both for air transport connecting strategic cities around the world and domestic road network be it the M1 or other roads that link tourism centres.”
The waiver means there are now 79 countries whose nationals are free to enter Malawi without visas.
In 2015, the Malawi Government imposed visa fees for all countries, with tourists coming to Malawi required to pay $50 (K87550) per single entry while a multiple entry visa for six months costs $150 (K262 650).
Source: https://mwnation.com/tourism-booms-in-2024
