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ZIMBABWE has once again been named as the world’s safest tourist destination when countries reopen their borders for international travel post-Covid-19 restrictions.

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

Zimbabwe scored 35,48 out of a possible 50 points and Thailand came second with 35,33 points in the travel destination index.

It is not surprising that Zimbabwe is on top as the safest tourist destination given that the country last festive season 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 last year include South African television presenter and socialite Maps Maponyane. Maponyane who spent a day in Victoria Falls, spoke glowingly about the falls saying the story of them drying up was not true.

Renowned American comedian and television host Steve Harvey and his wife Marjorie also visited Victoria Falls last year and toured the rainforest.

Tourlane said in coming up with the rankings, it assessed the security risks of each country and Zimbabwe emerged the safest destination in the world. This is a positive for Zimbabwe’s tourism industry which was the hardest hit by Covid-19 international travel restrictions.

The challenge to the tourism and hospitality industry is to brace for the likely influx of tourists once the travel restrictions are relaxed.

We want repeat visits which are crucial for the tourism industry as it is a confirmation that the visitors are enjoying their stay in the country.

The tourism industry should ride on the latest confidence booster as it markets 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, Zimbabwe Ruins and other such attractions if it is able to attract large numbers of foreign visitors across the globe.

What is pleasing and encouraging is that the US which has ranked Zimbabwe as the safest destination, is one of the countries contributing large numbers of tourists visiting Zimbabwe every year.

We want to once again urge the tourism industry to adequately prepare to host the expected large numbers of visitors post-Covid-19 travel restrictions.