Tourism stakeholders have seen some success in boosting tourism to the Zambian town of Livingstone since the establishment of the Destination Livingstone campaign.

Founded during 2020, Destination Livingstone is a private, public and community initiative established to make the town, which borders the Victoria Falls, a more attractive and competitive tourist destination.

Speaking at a recent media briefing held in Livingstone, Chairman of Destination Livingstone, Peter Jones, explained that the organisation was employing strategies that were loosely based on some of the successes that had been achieved in the building of Niagara-on-the-Lake as a tourism destination.

He said Niagara-on-the-Lake and Livingstone shared a lot of similarities. Niagara-on-the-Lake is in Canada above the famous Niagara Falls, which are on the border between Canada and the US.

Both towns are said to offer better panoramic views due to their situation above the Falls, offering huge potential for tourism. However, it is here that the similarities end, as Jones says Niagara-on-the-Lake now boasts higher tourism numbers than those on the American side of the Falls. Livingstone traditionally attracts fewer visitors than its nearby rival, Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe.

Based on this premise, some of Destination Livingstone’s objectives include raising the demand for the city as a tourist destination; establishing it as a clean, green, environmentally friendly and socio-economically inclusive destination; collaborating with all stakeholders to strengthen the management of the tourism sector; nurturing emerging tourism sector entrepreneurs; generating income and employment opportunities in the area and the creation of a tourism hub for Zambia and beyond through the creation of convenient and affordable access to tourism products.

Over the last year, Destination Livingstone has established a number of working groups to move forward with these objectives. The City Facilities and Infrastructure Group is working with the local council to improve the appearance of existing advertising signs and to introduce more tourism signage welcoming visitors to the town.

Numerous initiatives

• The group also intends to landscape the main thoroughfare in the city, to rehabilitate the city centre into a ‘historic quarter’ and to improve the processes and infrastructure at the Victoria Falls border with Zimbabwe.
• A Tourism Operators and Supplier Group is working to engage with the travel trade to promote the city. A Tourism and Heritage Development Group is also working with the Ministry of Tourism and Arts to rejuvenate the curio trade through training in new product development and improved retail management.
• A Strategic Finances Group is currently assessing a major project to build a road that bypasses Livingstone to reduce truck traffic through the area.
• The city is also looking at renewable energy options to reduce electricity cuts, which affect local residents, businesses and tourism services alike.
• A Conservation and Wildlife Group is also involved in anti-poaching initiatives and in increasing the amount of protected land in the area to reduce human-wildlife conflict.
• An intern programme was also launched in 2020 and a training programme is under development to bring young people and women into the tourism sector who can be available in the city streets to assist visitors as welcome ambassadors.

Personal perspective

Walking through the streets of Livingstone you can see some of these initiatives taking shape. The ‘Forest of Faces’, where three- to four-metre-tall local wood carved sculptures have been erected in one of the city’s local parks, creating a ‘forest’ of wooden sculptures, is one example.

A #SelfieStreet has also been created where visitors can take photographs of themselves in front of vivid local graffiti art works pretending to ‘play the drum’ or ‘open their butterfly wings’. This initiative, which encourages travellers to post their photos online, aims to increase awareness about Livingstone on social media.

A visit to the historic Railway Museum and nearby Jewish Museum, provides interesting insight into the city’s past and plans are also under way to revitalise the city’s Boat House and its long history of rowing.