ZTA meets Egyptair over Harare route Sugar Chagonda
Sugar Chagonda

Sugar Chagonda

Charity Ruzvidzo Business Reporter
EGYPTIAN airline Egyptair is considering maintaining its Harare -Dar es Salaam – Cairo route, an apparent about turn after announcing plans to terminate the service by the end of this month.
Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) spokesperson Sugar Chagonda on Friday said the country has engaged Egyptian authorities to review their withdrawal plans.
“Last week our chief executive officer Karikoga Kaseke went to Egypt and engaged the authorities about the withdrawal. They are certainly reconsidering the option of staying,” he said.

Chagonda said the airline was offered discounts on landing charges as part of the deal to remain in the country.
“It’s a give and take situation. The Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe has agreed to offer discounts on landing and navigation. As the tourism sector we’ll also play a part in ensuring their stay is worthwhile,” he added.

Chagonda said ZTA’s main agenda was to meet the annual revenue target of $5 billion.
“As stipulated in our policy, we want tourism to contribute to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as much as mining. The effort to retain Egyptair is a step towards achieving that goal,” he said.

Chagonda said the Egyptian airline officials were yet to make the final decision but expressed optimism they will continue serving Harare.
Kaseke recently told Business Chronicle that withdrawal of flights from the country leads to loss of confidence in tourists as they would not view Zimbabwe as a worthwhile tourism destination.

Last week ZTA entered into a joint venture with the country’s first online company One Stop Shanya Tourism Group, which focuses on e-marketing and online operations, in a bid to boost the nation’s tourism.

Zimbabwe earns an average of $1 billion from tourism per year and is aiming increasing the figure to $5 billion.

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