Brazzaville welcomes a landmark tourism fair
Excitement is already humming along the banks of the Congo River: from 18 to 20 November 2025, the capital will stage the inaugural Nabemba Tourism Expo, a regional fair designed to showcase Congo’s travel assets and forge ties across Central Africa (Journal de Brazza, 5 Nov 2025).
- Brazzaville welcomes a landmark tourism fair
- Domestic travel in the spotlight
- Three days, three pillars
- A boost for Ngabé and beyond
- State support and economic stakes
- Training the next generation
- Digital first for a mobile audience
- Health, safety and green credentials
- What visitors can expect
- Looking ahead to November 2025
The event borrows its name from Mount Nabemba, the nation’s highest peak, as a nod to natural splendours waiting to be explored. Organisers say the expo will mix business, culture and technology to position Brazzaville as a springboard for inland adventures (Les Dépêches de Brazzaville, 6 Nov 2025).
Domestic travel in the spotlight
The chosen theme, “Tourisme interne, enjeux et défis”, reflects a clear strategy: grow local visitor flows before chasing distant markets. Francel Emerancy Balank, national coordinator and head of Wild Safari Tours, argues that Congolese families should be the first ambassadors of their own heritage.
“We want residents of Makélékélé or Pointe-Noire to feel the urge to hike Nabemba, cruise the Léfini river or taste wild honey in Ngabé,” Balank explained during a press briefing at the Plateau district’s tourist office.
Three days, three pillars
Programme teasers reveal an event split into three complementary pillars. Day one focuses on exhibitions: tour operators, hotel groups, handicraft cooperatives and fintech solutions will occupy the Palais des Congrès halls with colourful stands and immersive screens.
Day two will dive into knowledge sharing. Panels on ecotourism, carbon-smart transport and online booking innovations are expected to draw academics from Marien-Ngouabi University and consultants from the African Development Bank, who track tourism’s contribution to non-oil GDP.
The final day targets trade. Business-to-business sessions will pair site managers, such as the Odzala-Kokoua National Park team, with potential investors seeking greenfield lodge projects. Organisers hope deals sketched in Brazzaville will mature into concrete jobs in river towns over the next two years.
A boost for Ngabé and beyond
Ngabé, a lush peninsula 150 kilometres north of the capital, occupies pride of place. Virtual-reality headsets will let urban dwellers ‘walk’ its sacred forests and petro-glyph caves without leaving the exhibition floor. The municipality expects the showcase to lift visitor numbers by 30 % in 2026.
Placide Nguie Obambi, who manages the site, summed up the ambition: “This expo is a bridge between our village and booking platforms in Douala or Libreville. Partnership means paved access roads, solar mini-grids and training for our young guides.”
State support and economic stakes
Tourism contributes roughly 3 % to Congo’s GDP, according to 2024 estimates from the Ministry of Economic Diversification. Authorities believe the figure could double if domestic circuits are modernised and promoted with the same energy devoted to extractive industries.
Speaking on behalf of the government, senior tourism adviser Hervé Nzonzi reiterated at the press conference that the expo aligns with President Denis Sassou Nguesso’s strategy of broadening revenue streams and nurturing youth employment. “Every visitor who spends a night in Brazzaville sustains at least five local jobs,” he noted.
The ministry has pledged logistical assistance, including expedited visas for foreign exhibitors, security patrols around the venue and a pop-up artisan market on Avenue de la Corniche to channel spill-over traffic to small vendors.
Training the next generation
Beyond deals and speeches, organisers insist on skill-building. A dedicated ‘Campus Nabemba’ corner will host masterclasses on drone mapping, hospitality management and social-media storytelling. Students from the School of Hotel Management in Kintélé have already volunteered to run the information desk.
Balank believes these interactions matter as much as keynote addresses: “If a 22-year-old learns to code a booking engine during the expo, we secure the sector’s future,” he said, drawing applause from journalists.
Digital first for a mobile audience
The expo’s communication leans heavily on smartphones. A WhatsApp chatbot provides schedules, ticket prices starting at 1 500 F CFA and bus routes from Talangaï. An Instagram filter places Mount Nabemba’s silhouette behind users, encouraging viral selfies under the hashtag #ExploreCongo.
Local start-up KELASI XR will stream certain panels on Facebook Live with Lingala subtitles, ensuring accessibility for diasporic viewers in Paris and Atlanta who track home-country developments.
Health, safety and green credentials
Organisers assure visitors that health protocols remain in place, including on-site hand-washing stations and optional mask zones, a precaution maintained since the 2023 dengue spike. The police directorate confirms a visible but discreet security deployment similar to the 2024 Central African Games opening ceremony.
Environmental groups have welcomed the expo’s pledge to offset its carbon footprint. The nationally determined contribution unit at the Ministry of Environment says 500 moringa trees will be planted near Djoumouna in December using a portion of ticket revenue.
What visitors can expect
Tickets grant access to a pop-up ‘Flavours of Congo’ food alley supervised by celebrity chef Armand Malonga, where cassava crêpes and river-fish brochettes meet modern plating. Evening concerts will blend rumba, gospel and rap, headlined by Tatiana Kruz and the young collective 242 Street.
Families can test an augmented-reality treasure hunt that unlocks discount codes for hotel stays in Loufoulakari by scanning hidden QR badges among the stands. Accessibility ramps and sign-language interpreters will be available throughout.
Looking ahead to November 2025
With 11 months to go, stand reservations already top 60 % of planned capacity, according to the organising committee’s latest bulletin. Sponsors range from Pointe-Noire-based airline Equaflight to Congolese bank Credit du Congo, reflecting cross-sector interest.
If attendance projections of 8 000 daily visitors hold, hotel occupancy in Brazzaville could climb to 85 % during the fair, an encouraging sign for operators recovering from pandemic lows (Xinhua, 7 Nov 2025). Stakeholders view the expo as both a showcase and a stress test for the city’s infrastructure.
For now, the countdown clock on nabembaexpo.cg keeps ticking, inviting travel lovers, entrepreneurs and students alike to circle mid-November 2025 in red and prepare to rediscover Congo from the inside out.
