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Thupeyo Muleya in Beitbridge 

THE number of new overseas tourists participating in the Tour de Tuli tourism expedition, which is underway in the Greater Mapungubwe Transfrontier Conservation Area, has increased by 34 percent, organisers said.

The mega-park links national parks from Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Tour de Tuli is mountain biking tourism expedition, which is held annually in the park to promote the GMTFCA as a destination of choice in Sadc.

The event started on the South African side on Tuesday and will end in Botswana on Sunday. During the course of the event, tourists traverse the three countries on mountain bikes and access each of them via tourism facilitation borders. 

Tour De Tuli Director, Ms Nicola Harris said: “It is pleasing to note that out of the 241 participants, we have 83 international visitors.

“This is an increase from the usual figures we were getting from the previous years. 

“In addition, you will note that we are having inquiries from more people who want to participate in next year’s event. 

“We are growing bigger with each year and we hope to continue to build on that feat. As Tour de Tuli we are also happy with the level of cooperation we are getting from border authorities especially Zimbabwe. Everyone is committed to make this programme a success”.

Ms Harris said as part of innovation they had also changed the route for this year’s event to give the tourists a new experience. She said this time the visitors will spend more time in Botswana compared to previous years when they spent more days in Zimbabwe.

According to Ms Harris, repeat tourists were showing a lot of interest and appreciating Zimbabwe’s wildlife conservation methods.

“The feedback from the clients on their experiences is motivating. As we speak we now have dates for 2020 and we are looking at having at least 290 bikers mostly international visitors,” she said.

Ms Harris said the adventure was used to raise funds for Children in the Wilderness, which centres on skills such as team building, leadership, communication, HIV/Aids prevention, health and nutrition, and literacy while also teaching children about tracking, conservation, anti-poaching, geography and geology.

She said they were working with six schools in Beitbridge, mostly those located within the park.

The participants were drawn from US, Angola, Botswana, South Africa, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden and Zimbabwe.

The event is being held for the 15th year running and for the 10th time since Zimbabwe joined in 2009. It is jointly organised by the three governments.