• SECZ proposes regulated vehicles for hotels, lodges and tourism-linked infrastructure
• Tourism receipts reached US$537 million in the first half of 2026
• Public capital requires proven cash flows, governance and investor-protection rules

Harare  — Zimbabwe’s tourism expansion is opening a prospective new financing frontier for the capital market, with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Zimbabwe advancing structures that could package stabilised hotels, lodges and other tourism assets into regulated investment vehicles for pension funds, diaspora investors and retail savers.

The proposed route centres on tourism-focused real estate investment trusts, collective investment schemes, fractional ownership and other instruments that would allow developers to release capital from completed properties for their next projects. Investors would gain exposure to the foreign-currency income generated by accommodation and tourism infrastructure through regulated units instead of direct ownership of a hotel or lodge.

SECZ acting chief executive Tichaona Mushambadope presented the framework at the Sanganai/Hlanganani/Dzimbahwe Tourism Expo in Masvingo, where the commission also raised tourism levy-backed bonds, diaspora bonds, crowdfunding and a tokenisation pilot. None has been approved as a dedicated tourism product, placing the policy discussion ahead of the market’s current product set.

That distinction defines the investment case. Tourism has established a larger project pipeline and stronger revenue base, while capital-market financing requires each asset to meet a separate threshold for income quality, valuation, governance and liquidity.

Tourism receipts rose 6% to US$537 million in the first half of 2026, from US$508 million in the corresponding period last year. Domestic tourism trips increased 27% to 6.4 million, while tourism investment reached US$132.3 million, up from US$40.2 million in the first half of 2025.

The performance extends a recovery already evident in the first quarter, when international arrivals rose 11% to 384,561 and receipts increased 14% to US$251 million. Zimbabwe recorded 1.78 million international visitors in 2025, up from 1.61 million a year earlier.

These figures create a commercial base for more accommodation, conference facilities, transport-linked assets and destination infrastructure. They do not provide a return profile for each project. Tourism receipts combine spending across hotels, airlines, restaurants, transport providers, activity operators and retailers. A listed tourism vehicle would require its own record of occupancy, room rates, operating margins, foreign-currency collections, maintenance expenditure and debt service.

Government has placed about US$500 million of hotel infrastructure projects at various stages of development through to 2030. Harare alone has 2,593 hotel rooms under construction, a further 2,402 at tender or financial-closure stage, and 2,000 planned as greenfield projects.

The financing requirement changes across that pipeline. Land acquisition, approvals, construction and pre-opening costs carry development risk and require equity capital able to absorb delayed completion, cost overruns and slower-than-expected demand. A mature hotel with a proven operating history can support a different capital structure, including a REIT that owns the property and leases it to a professional hotel operator.

That separation gives the proposed vehicle its economic rationale. A developer can recycle capital tied up in completed buildings. The REIT unitholder receives exposure to rental or property income. The operator focuses on occupancy, pricing, service quality and distribution. Each participant carries a clearer part of the commercial risk.

Zimbabwe already has four listed REITs: Tigere and Revitus on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, and Eagle and Pfuma on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange. The trusts have established the regulatory foundation for pooled property ownership, although the market has yet to establish a diversified listed portfolio concentrated in tourism assets.

Eagle REIT’s association with the planned 111-key Novotel Victoria Falls project, scheduled to open in 2028, offers an early reference point. The project can demonstrate whether a global hotel brand, a USD-denominated investment platform and Victoria Falls demand can produce a cash-flow profile suitable for public participation. Its eventual prospectus, lease structure, valuation and distribution history will matter more than the project’s construction announcement.

Pension funds sit at the centre of the proposed capital pool. Industry pension assets stood at US$2.63 billion in June 2025, with 44% already allocated directly to property. This creates an opportunity for trustees to replace part of an illiquid direct-property exposure with regulated, independently valued and income-distributing units where the underlying economics meet their mandates.

It also raises an allocation question. Pension funds have substantial property exposure, and tourism vehicles will compete with office, retail, residential, industrial and infrastructure assets for capital. A tourism REIT must therefore offer credible USD returns after property costs, management fees, maintenance capital expenditure and debt obligations. Prescribed-asset status, where granted, can widen institutional demand, though it cannot substitute for commercial cash generation.

SECZ has proposed a fast-track review lane for tourism and hospitality trusts, funds and bond issuances, alongside a working group with the Insurance and Pensions Commission and the Ministry of Finance. Its proposed hospitality tokenisation pilot would test whether smaller investors can participate through digital units without weakening asset custody, disclosure standards or secondary-market protection.

The investor-protection burden rises as ownership becomes more fragmented. Each vehicle requires independent valuation, verified title, audited distributions, defined leverage limits, related-party controls, clear operator contracts and regular disclosure of occupancy, revenue per available room, foreign-currency collections and project milestones. A listing provides an ownership framework; liquidity depends on active trading, trusted valuations and transparent performance data.

The capital-market opportunity therefore rests on moving completed tourism assets into vehicles that can carry long-term savings safely. SECZ, IPEC, the ZSE and VFEX now need to establish a tourism-financing framework before the first public offer, with disclosure rules that distinguish stabilised income assets from construction-stage developments.

The first tourism REIT or collective-investment prospectus will provide the measurable test. Its asset title, USD revenue share, operator covenant, occupancy history, independent valuation, leverage, distribution policy and retail-investor protections will show whether Zimbabwe has created a durable new asset class or another route for transferring development risk into public savings.

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