COMESA and ECA convene second consultative workshop on regional sustainable tourism framework

Virtual, 17 August 2026 (ECA) - The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), in partnership with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), convened a Second Stakeholders' Consultative Workshop to guide the development of the COMESA Sustainable Tourism Development Framework, Implementation Plan and Regional Tourism Business Cases.

The workshop gave Member States and key stakeholders the opportunity to review preliminary findings, validate the proposed strategic direction, and provide technical guidance ahead of the finalization of the Framework and its accompanying business cases.

It builds on the First Stakeholders' Consultation Workshop held in Diani, Kenya, in April 2026, which established the initiative's strategic priorities, identified key regional challenges, and agreed on a roadmap for developing the Framework.

Opening the workshop, Mr Lotfi Hamza, COMESA Officer-in-Charge representing Director of Industry and Agriculture, welcomed ECA's technical and financial partnership in developing a Framework to address the challenges facing the region's tourism sector, including climate change, environmental degradation, external shocks, infrastructure gaps, skills constraints and fragmented policies.

He stressed that the goal was not to produce another policy document, but "a clear regional roadmap to guide coordinated action, mobilise investment, support national implementation and deliver measurable results," adding that the four business cases under development "must be credible, investment-ready and demonstrate real regional value."

Speaking on behalf of ECA, Ms Olayinka Bandele, Chief of the Inclusive Industrialisation Section at the Sub-Regional Office for Southern Africa, noted that while tourism in the region has rebounded strongly, COMESA still lacks a sufficiently coordinated mechanism to translate that recovery into inclusive, resilient and environmentally sustainable development.

She highlighted the scale of the opportunity: African tourism earned roughly USD 51 billion from 83 million visitors in 2019, and last year rebounded to around 100 million visitors and USD 65 billion in receipts - a resilience she said signals immense growth potential for the sector.

ECA Consultants from JUPI Limited presented the sector diagnostics report, the proposed strategic direction, pillars and priority programmes, and the four-priority regional tourism business cases together with their strategic rationale.

The presentations were followed by an interactive question-and-answer session in which Member States contributed to strengthening the three documents.

Key issues raised for integration into the Framework included:

The need for better data distinguishing tourists visiting the region from broader continental and global travel patterns

Visa barriers affecting intra-African travel

The importance of promoting intra-COMESA business travel

Sharing of national tourism frameworks already developed by COMESA Member States

The establishment of a regional tourism information platform

The workshop brought together representatives from most of the 21 COMESA Member States, including government ministries and departments responsible for tourism planning and development, national tourism authorities, investment promotion agencies, private sector tourism associations, civil society organizations working in tourism and sustainable development, the COMESA Secretariat and ECA.

The workshop marks an important milestone toward a coordinated regional approach that strengthens tourism competitiveness, promotes sustainable investment, enhances regional integration, and supports implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement and the COMESA Medium-Term Strategic Plan.

Note to Editors

The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is a regional economic community comprising 21 Member States: Burundi, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Issued by:

The Sub-Regional Office for Southern Africa
UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)
P.O. Box 30647, Lusaka, Zambia.

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