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TEN chief executives of big corporates in America last week visited Victoria Falls and spent three days in the resort city. The executives are on a 12-day trip which is the inaugural Roar Africa Emirates Executive Private Jet trip dubbed “The Greatest Safari on Earth” covering Victoria Falls, Okavango Delta in Botswana, Kenya’s Great Migration and the world’s last wild mountain gorillas in Rwanda.

Zimbabwe was the first stop of the four-nation trip and the founder and CEO of Roar Africa Ms Deborah Calmeyer said she chose Zimbabwe to be the first stop because the country has set its own history as a pacesetter in hospitality.

She said the executives enjoyed their stay in Victoria Falls and have indicated that they want to come back.

“We had the most amazing time from warm welcome and hospitality, spotless airport to fantastic flight above the Falls and other activities such as wine tasting and tiger fishing,” said Ms Calmeyer.

Zimbabwe was last year named as the world’s safest tourist destination post-Covid-19 restrictions.

A US-based travel and tourism agency Tourlane ranked Zimbabwe number one among top 15 destinations in the world which include Thailand, Fuji, Zambia, Seychelles, Japan, Cambodia among others.

The visit by the American executives is therefore, an endorsement of Zimbabwe as the safest tourist destination and the tourism and hospitality industry should ride on this to attract visitors from big global markets.

Zimbabwe has in the past played host to international celebrities that include Hollywood stars and couple Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, Uefa president who is also Fifa vice-president Aleksander Ceferin and his wife Barbara and Honorary Commander of the British Navy, Mrs Durdana Ansari.

The other celebrities that visited the country include South African television presenter and socialite Maps Maponyane. Maponyane who spent a day in Victoria Falls, spoke glowingly about the falls.

Renowned American comedian and television host Steve Harvey and his wife Marjorie also visited Victoria Falls.

The challenge to the tourism and hospitality industry is to ensure these visitors come back as repeat visits are crucial for the growth of our tourism industry. We have no doubt that the American executives who were in the country last week, will be our ambassadors that will assist to market Zimbabwe as a tourist destination of choice.

The country can only derive maximum benefits from its world class tourist attractions such as the Victoria Falls, Great Zimbabwe National Monument and other such attractions if it is able to attract large numbers of foreign visitors from big markets such as America and China.