Towards quantifying climate suitability for Zimbabwean nature-based tourism

Abstract

ABSTRACT Climate and weather are key resources for tourism. For nature-based tourism, weather determines the timing and variety of activities, while longer-term climate affects the seasonality of both tourism arrivals and the natural environment tourists will experience. This influence is heightened in developing countries, where little adaptation has been implemented to ameliorate unfavourable climate and extreme weather events. The Tourism Climatic Index (TCI) is widely used in the global North to quantify the climate suitability of tourist destinations. Initial studies for South Africa, Lesotho and Namibia reveal the applicability of the index in the African context, despite challenges in data availability and quality. This study presents the first TCI calculations for Zimbabwe, a country relient on outdoor nature-based tourism for attracting tourists and foreign income. The mean annual TCI scores classify Zimbabwe as very good to excellent in climatic suitability for tourism, with scores spanning 75.5–83 (of a maximum 100) for the period 1989–2014. Monthly TCI scores categorize four locations in the Lowveld region as having a winter-peak suitability; the remaining stations have either summer-peak or bimodal shoulder-peaks. This reveals year-round climatic suitability for tourism in Zimbabwe, and highlights the importance of understanding seasonal variability per destination to maximize tourist satisfaction.