The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) has devised a new tourism strategy to prioritise local initiatives as well as larger SADC projects.

"Given the current global economic downturn, the DBSA is well positioned as a leading development finance institution with a counter-cyclical mandate to invest in tourism infrastructure at a time when commercial finance institutions may take a more cautious view," said DBSA tourism specialist, Kate Rivett-Carnac, in a statement.

The new initiative divides the bank’s tourism investments into five sections: anchor projects, clusters of small businesses that achieve scale when combined, community partnerships, transport infrastructure and projects with the ability to draw new or underserved markets.

"Each of these themes will support the overarching principle of developing tourism destinations, which is at the core of the new strategy," added Rivett-Carnac.