Mozambique was named Best Tourism Investment Destination at the World Tourism Awards 2026 on the evening of 9 November, at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels. Fredson Bacar, Secretary of State for Tourism, accepted it on behalf of the government, before ministers, investors and industry leaders from around the world.
Organised by the World Tourism Forum Institute, the awards reward the destinations, companies and personalities driving the sector forward. Twenty-one other prizes were also handed out.
The gala took place between the two conference days of the Global Tourism Forum Annual Meeting 2026. Earlier that day, Bacar had joined Susan Rodrigues, Guyana’s Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, for a ministerial dialogue on tourism investment, connectivity and economic transformation, moderated by Özgül Özkan Yavuz, Board Member of Turkish Airlines and former Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism of Türkiye. As reported by Travel Tomorrow, he told investors his country was moving beyond beach holidays: “Mozambique is rich. Mozambique is open.”
Mozambique was recognised twice that evening, as Standup MĂdia won Best Social Media Strategy in Tourism for its Mozambique Tourism Summit campaign. Last year, the country was named Best Sustainable Destination. Long known for its coastline, islands and wildlife, it now also promotes conservation, culture, gastronomy and golf.
The new award shows the country is also winning over international investors. Since taking office in January 2025, President Daniel Chapo has made tourism a priority to diversify the economy beyond gas, coal and other extractive industries. “Gas will one day run out… tourism will never run out,” he said earlier this month.
His government’s Five-Year Programme for 2025–2029 aims to raise tourism’s share of GDP to 6%. Mozambique has created a National Agency for Tourism Development and Investment (ANDITUR) and a Southern Corridor Special Tourism Economic Zone in Inhambane province, which is being developed as the national tourism hub. An electronic visa platform is being rolled out, alongside a “Visa Gold” scheme for foreign investors.
This confidence is already turning into concrete projects. In September 2025, President Chapo launched the US$140 million project for Aman’s first resort in Sub-Saharan Africa, at the Karingani Game Reserve. Singita is planning new eco-lodges in the Bazaruto Archipelago, while the Vilankulo waterfront, an airport expansion and the development of Massingir airfield are improving access.
Results are already visible. At the second Mozambique Tourism Summit in Vilankulo earlier this month, the President said arrivals of tourists and investors had risen by more than 254% year on year. The government also presented 40 to 50 tourism projects to investors, 25 of them ready for financing.
Bacar’s team has begun work on a National Tourism Strategy and an Inhambane Master Plan, with World Bank support, and has drawn up a national MICE strategy. Mozambique also debuted at IMEX Frankfurt, a leading events industry trade show.
The common thread is bringing local communities into the tourism value chain. As Bacar said in Brussels, tourism cannot be developed “without people, without community”.
