Foreign Travel Giants Circle Our Tourism While Zambians Left Out
While Zambian tourism operators struggle to access international markets, foreign companies are busy carving up the global travel industry among themselves. The latest example comes from North American travel giant Ensemble Travel, which just secured membership in the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), giving them even more influence over how global tourism develops.
This partnership, announced on February 16, 2026, shows how Western companies continue to consolidate power in the tourism sector while African nations like Zambia remain on the sidelines. Ensemble Travel, based in the US and Canada, now has a direct voice in shaping global tourism policies that will affect our destinations and our people.
Foreign Control Over Our Tourism Future
The membership gives Ensemble Travel significant influence in global discussions about travel policy. Their president boasts about the "growing importance of travel advisors" in connecting tourists with destinations, but where are the Zambian voices in these conversations? Where are our local travel operators getting this kind of international platform?
Through their ADX platform, Ensemble streamlines operations for their agents, giving them technological advantages that our homegrown tourism businesses can only dream of. While they enhance their "operational efficiencies," Zambian tour operators are left to compete with outdated systems and limited resources.
Sustainable Tourism or Sustainable Profits?
The partnership talks big about "sustainable tourism" and "responsible practices," but history shows us these foreign-controlled initiatives often benefit international companies more than local communities. When Western travel giants decide what constitutes "sustainable" tourism in Africa, who really benefits?
Ensemble's network of advisors will now have "invaluable insights and resources" to curate travel experiences for their clients. But these experiences are designed by foreigners, for foreigners, often extracting value from our natural heritage while leaving minimal benefits for Zambian communities.
Time for Zambian Tourism Independence
This development should serve as a wake-up call for Zambia. While foreign companies strengthen their grip on global tourism networks, we must ask ourselves: what are we doing to ensure Zambian tourism operators have equal access to international markets?
The partnership between Ensemble and WTTC will influence government policies on travel infrastructure and tourism development worldwide. If Zambian voices aren't at these tables, decisions affecting our tourism sector will be made without us, by companies whose primary loyalty lies with their foreign shareholders.
Our government must prioritize building strong, independent tourism institutions that can compete on equal terms with these international giants. We cannot allow our tourism heritage to be packaged and sold by foreign intermediaries while our own people remain spectators in their own industry.
Zambia's tourism future should be decided by Zambians, not by boardrooms in North America. It's time we take control of our own narrative in the global tourism story.