Mwaba Mwila
Advocating for Domestic and Adventure Tourism
If you are a hiking or camping enthusiast, then you have probably heard of Mwaba Mwila Adventures. This Zambian owned adventure tourism company helps young people explore the Zambian bush through guided hiking and camping expeditions.
I recently had a chat with its founder, Mwaba Mwila, who is passionate about domestic tourism and using it to provide opportunities for people living in rural parts of the country. Although Mwaba Mwila Adventures is just over two years old, it’s actually been ten years in the works. Mwaba spent seven years honing his outdoor survival skills before finally setting up the adventure company.
The 32-year-old adventurer attributes his love for outdoor life to a discovery he made about himself early in life. At a young age he realized he wasn’t very academic but was rather drawn to non-formal education. He also strongly believed people who are not academically inclined could explore skills and make a living out of their other talents. For him, this meant exploring new places, creating experiences, and sharing those experiences with others.
Mwaba, credits his hiking, rock climbing and canoeing skills to the time he spent as a Trainee Outdoor Instructor at Ndubaluba Outdoor Center in Mukushi. He began his career teaching life and outdoor survival skills to young people in school and youth camps in rural parts of Zambia. He explains that this experience stirred a keen interest in getting more young Zambians to explore the country. In his personal life and in business, Mwaba advocates for domestic tourism and believes that enhancing domestic travel will increase its contribution to the tourism sector. He points out that an increase in local travel can help keep the industry afloat when there is a decline in international tourist arrivals, as was the case when borders were shut due to Covid-19 travel restrictions.
Between 2020 and 2021, when the pandemic was at its peak, Zambia was among African countries that saw a massive boom in domestic tourism. Locals increasingly visited national parks and other tourist destinations to help people working in the tourism sector keep their jobs. Travel statistics from 2021 show an increase in domestic tourism of around 58.7 percent, with an estimated 235,392 Zambians visiting tourism sites, compared to 148,373 recorded the year before.
However, Mwaba believes domestic tourism should be our priority, even without disasters like Covid-19. He explains that this is why Mwaba Mwila Adventures primarily targets young Zambians. Their model is convenient for working professionals who need to be in the office during the week. “The idea behind our mobile camp activities is that people can leave on Saturday, go for a hike, get back home on Sunday and then Monday they’re back at work.”
Responding to a query on a view held by some people; that tourism is expensive and targeted at foreigners, Mwaba says people think tourism is expensive because we haven’t defined tourism correctly. “People think tourism is staying in a five star hotel in Livingstone for two weeks. If that’s the case, then it’s going to be expensive”, he explains.
He stresses that we need to identify other ways of exploring Zambia. Hiking and camping are cheaper than traditional tourism and make tourism available to more young people. “For us, going to hiking camps in the middle of a remote bush is obviously going to be cheaper than staying in a five star establishment and going for a game drive.” He discloses that his expeditions are usually low budget activities, with some all-inclusive day trip packages costing as low as K600, which is very reasonable.
Away from his enthusiasm about domestic tourism’s potential to transform Zambia’s tourism industry, Mwaba is also deeply passionate about providing opportunities for people living in rural parts of Zambia. He explains that giving back to local communities is a big part of Mwaba Mwila Adventure’s business philosophy. “Our business model is based on cooperation with local communities because they are the owners and custodians of the natural resources like the mountains we climb, the rivers we cross, and the campsites we sleep in. So, our engagement with them must be mutually beneficial”, explains Mwaba.
To ensure local communities benefit from his trips, Mwaba travels with a lean team of employees. He then outsources the rest of the labour required during camping activities from people within the communities they camp in. “Most of the time when I organize camping trips, I could easily come in with a team of more than 20 people and do everything and therefore nothing is left in that community” says Mwila. “But as operators, we need to ensure that a good amount of our revenue remains in local communities, so when you come on a hike with us, you will find that the guides are from the local villages, the places we camp in belong to one of the locals, so we pay a camping fee to the community.”
The explorer, who takes young people on guided expeditions to iconic but lesser-known destinations like Mount Mumpu in Mukushi and Kundalila falls in Serenje, challenges young Zambians to explore these and other destinations in the country. For people in Lusaka, Mwaba says they should visit the Lusaka national park, which he reckons few people know about.
To learn more about mwaba mwila adventures please visit https://mwilaadventure.com/.