The Parliamentary Committee on Tourism has expressed optimism that the investments outlined in the 2025/26 National Budget will boost the tourism sector and unlock its potential to catalyse economic growth.
In their response to the budget vote on Tourism on Tuesday, the Parliamentary Cluster Committee on Trade, Industry and Tourism and Media, Information and Communication noted that the government has allocated K6 billion for key tourism projects.
In his response, co-chairperson of the cluster committee Paul Nkhoma said the allocation will target infrastructure improvements aimed at boosting visitor spending and supporting infrastructure.
He said: “Among the priority initiatives is a K1.9 billion investment in Kasungu National Park for accommodation and supporting infrastructure.
“The Ministry of Tourism has also earmarked K1.4 billion for the development of a model public beach in Salima intended as a blueprint for sustainable beach tourism along the shores of Lake Malawi.”
Other investments include K1.2 billion for improving access roads to prime tourist sites, K568 million for completing structures at the Mzuzu campus of the Malawi Institute of Tourism and K1 billion for the construction of a new purpose-built facility at Lingadzi Inn in Lilongwe.
According to the cluster committee, these investments are expected to enhance the country’s tourism appeal and strengthen its contribution to the economy.
Alongside infrastructure projects, government is also focusing on strengthening revenue collection and investment in the tourism sector.
The minisityr is promoting 10 priority projects worth $151 million, with seven set to follow a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model in Likoma, Nkhata Bay, Salima, Nkhotakota, Mulanje, Machinga and Mangochi.
To address revenue leakages and improve compliance, the ministry has outlined several key reforms for the 2025/26 fiscal year.
These include digitising payment systems, enacting a new tourism law, expanding PPPs in wildlife conservation, rolling out a tourism statistics database to track tourist arrivals and expenditure and continuing to provide waivers for indigenous Malawians developing small-scale tourist eco-lodges with up to 20 rooms.
Despite the increased allocation for tourism development in the 2025/26 fiscal plan, concerns remain about the government’s ability to disburse and utilise funds effectively.
In the 2024/25 financial year, only 51 percent or K4.5 billion of the approved K8.8 billion budget, was disbursed by the end of February 2025.
More critically, just three percent or K46 million of the K1.3 billion development budget was utilised, raising questions about the implementation of key projects.
Nkhoma expressed disappointment over the funding shortfalls, calling for greater alignment between budgetary commitments and actual disbursements.
National Planning Commission director general Thomas Chataghalala Munthali, in an interview on Wednesday, noted that the success of the budget will rely on how quickly the government can disburse the resources to key government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).
He said: “Treasury needs to scaleup efforts to track implementation of the budget.
“What has let us down historically is budget execution. Flow of funds to (MDAs) can sometimes delay so much or trickle in smaller amounts than allocated in the budget.”
The Malawi Government Annual Economic Report 2025 indicates that the tourism sector, which is part of the ATM (agriculture, tourism and mining) straregy, contributed 10 percent to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2024.
Tourism is prioritised in the long-term development strategy, Malawi 2063 in view of its contribution to socio-economic development, job creation and poverty reduction.
