The highly anticipated announcement was made by this best-selling, inspirational travel yearbook from one of the world's leading travel authorities.
It highlights the top 10 countries, cities, regions and best value destinations for 2019.
Zimbabwe earned its place on the list thanks to its diversity of landscape and natural wonders, thriving cities and great value for international visitors, with Lonely Planet stating: "While it may be known for making the headlines for all the wrong reasons, Zimbabwe has always been a country that travellers on the ground have raved about.
"Not only is it one of Africa's safest destinations, it's one blessed with ultra-friendly locals, Big Five-filled national parks, World Heritage-listed archaeological ruins, forested mountains and, of course, the mighty Victoria Falls.
"Although the controversial 2018 election may have dampened the unbridled optimism following the end of Robert Mugabe's time in power, the sense of hope for what the country can become remains strong in Zimbabweans. And as always, a visit here is viewed by locals as a sign of support of them on their journey to a new dawn.
Zimbabwe features alongside countries such as Sri Lanka, Germany, Panama, Kyrgyzstan, Jordan, Indonesia, Belarus, São Tomé & Príncipe and Belize on the list of best countries to visit in 2019, with Sri Lanka taking the top spot as No1 country in the world.
Deciding the destinations in Lonely Planet's Best in Travel annual selection is a considered process, with its expert writers and travellers providing hundreds of suggestions of destinations from the places they have visited during the past year.
These places are then shortlisted by a panel of in-house travel experts who consider criteria such as topicality, excitement and the "wow-factor" to decide what to include in the travel yearbook.
The guide also features five travel trends that consumers should look out for next year, with destination races, vegetarian and vegan travel and private islands among those selected as ones to watch, while the travel experts also rank the top 10 best culture trips for families, new openings and best places to stay.
The landing page, www.lonelyplanet.com/best-in-travel, features all of the Best in Travel 2019 destinations and additional advice on visiting them.
Four videos accompany each of the No 1 destinations to reveal why they were selected the top spots for travel in 2019.
