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Ms Washaya-Moyo noted that local visitors increased  by 10 percent while international tourists increased  by a mere four percent and regional visitors increased by five percent.
“Our assessment is that the increase in local visitors is attributed to a number of factors, chief among them is the price which we believe is affordable, secondly a number of Diasporans are back home and they have taken it upon themselves to spend quality time with their families and friends in parks estates.”

Meanwhile, the authority has introduced a new electronic ticketing system for visitors to the rainforest.
Ms Washaya-Moyo said the system was up and   running adding that it was quite effective as visitors  were spending less time being served before entry.

“This system is in line with the current international trends whereby individual information is captured electronically by scanning one’s passport or ID thus  creating a database for marketing purposes,” said   Ms Washaya-Moyo.

The resort town was awash with visitors who were   coming for the New Year’s Eve celebrations.
According to the Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe, most hotels and lodges were still fully booked.