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Some of the international tour operators on a familiarisation tour

Leonard Ncube in Victoria Falls
A GROUP of international tour operators from around the world is in the country on a familiarisation tour to assess resorts areas with a possibility of collaborating with the local tourism industry.

This comes at a time when the local tourism industry is enjoying a new lease of life with the world turning its attention locally as a result of wide marketing strategies by the tourism and aviation authorities as well as state-of-the-art infrastructure such as the new look Victoria Falls International Airport.

The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) in collaboration with Ethiopian Airways are hosting the operators who are from Canada, China, Japan, Malaysia and Ethiopia.

Twenty four of the operators are already in the country and have visited Hwange National Park and surrounding areas while 10 more are set to arrive today.

They are drawn from top operators such as Ethiopian Airways Travel consolidators, ET Holidays, Japanese travel specialists, JTB World Vacations, Nippon Travel Agency, H.I.S Travel Company, Kronos Company and China’s top five tour operators such as China International Travel Services (CITS) and China Travel Services (CTS).

The first group arrived in Victoria Falls on Saturday and visited Hwange National Park and other resort areas in the area before going back to the prime resort town where they are sampling tour activities and services such as bungee jumping, gorge swing, elephant ride, lion walk, and Rainforest view, which are unique to Zimbabwe.

In the Hwange National Park, they had an opportunity to view four of the ‘Big Five’ animals except for the rhino, which was removed from the game park for security reasons.

ZTA chief executive officer, Dr Karikoga Kaseke, said the tour was a marketing tool for local resorts.

“ZTA in collaboration with the local tourism industry and Ethiopian Airways are hosting over 40 top   tourism operators from Canada, China, Japan, Malaysia and Ethiopia on a familiarisation tour of Zimbabwe.

“Familiarisation tours remain an essential and effective marketing tool which is used by tourist destinations world over as they enable operators to market and sell tourism products from an informed viewpoint,” said Dr Kaseke.

He applauded local tour operators for taking the initiative saying this will further put the country on the world map.

“We applaud such efforts which are meant to come up with strategic partnerships for promoting destination Zimbabwe particularly in the crucial source markets.

“The familiarisation tour will provide the visiting tourism operators with first hand product knowledge on Zimbabwe tourism attractions such as the Victoria Falls, Hwange, Bulawayo, Matopos and Harare,” he said.

The collaboration between ZTA and Ethiopian Airways signifies a bright future especially as the East African airliner entered the Zimbabwean market less than two months ago when it launched its maiden direct flight to Victoria Falls.

The airliner has a potential to boost arrival volumes due to its wide worldwide networks where it operate close to 100.