Last updated: 23 September 2026
Imagine planning a trip to Zambia and asking an AI assistant to build your entire journey — finding Victoria Falls activities, suggesting a safari based on your budget, locating accommodation, answering questions about destinations and helping you make bookings.
That is one example of what a more digitally connected tourism industry could eventually look like.
Zambia is now putting artificial intelligence and digital technology into the conversation about how the country's tourism sector should develop.
On 17 September, the Ministry of Technology and Science and Ministry of Tourism held a Tourism and Technology Symposium in Lusaka under the theme "Artificial Intelligence, Digital Transformation and Smart Tourism."
The discussion comes as Zambia works towards a long-term target of five million international tourist arrivals.
WHAT COULD AI ACTUALLY DO FOR ZAMBIAN TOURISM?
The most immediate applications may not involve futuristic robots or complicated AI systems.
They could begin with something much simpler: helping travellers find Zambia.
AI-powered travel assistants could potentially help visitors discover destinations based on interests, budget and available time. Translation systems could make tourism information accessible in more languages, while recommendation systems could connect travellers with attractions, lodges and local businesses.
For tourism authorities, AI and data analytics could also help identify travel patterns, understand visitor behaviour and measure which destinations are attracting interest.
The Zambia Tourism Agency has highlighted another important point: tourism businesses first need reliable digital information and the ability to be discovered and booked online.
AI cannot recommend a lodge, tour operator or attraction effectively if useful information about it is missing from the digital world.
FROM MARKETING TO TOURISM INTELLIGENCE
There is also a larger opportunity involving data.
Instead of relying only on historical visitor statistics, tourism authorities could increasingly analyse booking trends, searches, visitor feedback and other information to understand demand.
That could help answer practical questions: Which destinations are gaining interest? What experiences are visitors searching for? Where are tourists spending their time and money?
Better information could then influence marketing, investment and destination management.
Zambia has already demonstrated another technology-led approach to destination promotion. In August, a large drone light show in Lusaka was presented by the Ministry of Tourism as an example of combining technology, culture and tourism promotion.
AI ISN'T THE WHOLE SOLUTION
Technology cannot solve every obstacle facing Zambia's tourism industry.
Road access, flights, accommodation, connectivity, service quality and investment remain important.
Former Tourism Minister Jean Kapata recently argued that reaching five million visitors would be difficult under current conditions, pointing particularly to inadequate roads and limited accommodation around some attractions.
That provides an important reality check.
An AI travel assistant can help someone discover an attraction, but it cannot repair the road leading there.
The real opportunity is therefore not simply "using AI."
It is connecting better digital discovery, reliable tourism information, online booking and payments, connectivity, infrastructure and data-driven decision-making into a tourism system that is easier for visitors to use.
If Zambia gets that combination right, AI could become one useful part of making the country's tourism industry smarter — rather than technology added simply because AI is popular.
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