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Patrick Chitumba, Midlands Bureau Chief

INTERNATIONAL travellers from the United States of America (USA) and United Kingdom (UK) constitute the bulk of tourists’ arrivals flocking back to Zimbabwe following the relaxation of Covid-19-induced travel restrictions.

In the region and across the continent, South Africa is leading in terms of being a crucial link for tourists visiting Zimbabwe while domestic tourism has also become a key pillar for the sector.

The country recorded 352 719 tourist arrivals in the first-half of the year, according to official figures, up 115 percent from 164 062 tourist arrivals received during the same period last year with a majority of the visitors coming in from the USA and UK.

Zimbabwe is aiming to achieve a US$5 billion tourism economy by 2025 and the rebound in the sector sets the tone towards realisation of the milestone target.

Tourism is on a growth trajectory following the relaxation of Covid-19-induced travel restrictions and lockdowns and deputy Minister of Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Barbara Rwodzi, says the sector is looking forward to more arrivals this year.“Tourists from the USA and UK are making the bulk of tourist’s arrivals that are being recorded in the country,” she said in an interview.

“Overall, the tourists we are getting are largely coming from the following countries, USA, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, South Korea, South Africa and China.”

The Deputy Minister was in Gweru last week where she revealed that the tourism sector was also working on ways to adapt to global catastrophes like the Covid-19 pandemic in future.

UK Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Ms Melanie Robinson, who recently visited Matabeleland North province, has also commended the recent tourism sector reboot.

“Spectacular Victoria Falls. So great to see tourism coming back to Zimbabwe, including so many from the UK,” she posted on her official Twitter handle and shared images of her tourism experience.

“Wonderful to be in Hwange – talking economic opportunity, biodiversity and climate change. A lot of interest in how the Biodiverse Landscape Fund will support these here and in the whole KAZA area.”

Due to national lockdowns and travel restrictions that countries the world over imposed to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, Zimbabwe’s tourism sector has not been spared from the adverse effects of the virus. The Covid-19 pandemic was first detected in China in December 2019 before spreading across the globe.

In 2020, the Government launched the National Tourism Recovery and Growth Strategy to re-start the sector, whose contribution to the national economy has been heavily crippled by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The tourism industry is one of the three major economic mainstays after mining and agriculture that contribute significantly to the fiscus and Gross Domestic Product through foreign currency generation.

Meanwhile, international buyers have expressed excitement about the upcoming Sanganai/Hlanganani World Tourism Expo to be held from 13 to 15 October at the Zimbabwe International Exhibition Centre in Bulawayo.

The expo is expected to attract over 100 international buyers and is set to contribute to more in marketing destination Zimbabwe and unifying players in the local tourism sector and the region at large.

A leading South Korean tour operator, Mr Yunsuk Jin, last Friday told the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA), which is hosting the event, that they have booked a pre-tour, which will see them visit the majestic Victoria Falls, Hwange National Park, Bulawayo and Harare.

The team intends to ride on the expo to explore and sell Zimbabwe’s tourism products in South Korea and the Asian region at large.

Mr Jin’s company has presence in Cape Town and Johannesburg with 80 percent market share of operators that bring tourists to Africa.

“We’re attending Sanganai/Hlanganani as buyers and looking forward to meeting the rest of the world at this tourism exchange. Before 2019, as a company we used to bring about 3 000 South Korean tourists into the country and we hope to continue after this year’s edition of the expo,” he said.

“We want to enhance our knowledge and experience about destinations, we have since booked to take part in a pre-tour that covers Bulawayo, Masvingo, the Eastern Highlands and Harare.”

Another international buyer from the United States of America, Ms Kirsten Lebreux, who works with an operator that specialises in custom tours all round the world said she was looking forward to seeing what the country has for tourists.

“Zimbabwe is one of my favourite places in the world and I am so excited at the opportunity to be at Sanganai/Hlanganani to reconnect with old friends and industry partners,” she said.

“I want to be able to pick as much information as possible and share it with friends and industry colleagues back at home.”

The expo will be the first in-person meeting since Covid-19 was declared a pandemic on 11 March 2020. Commenting, ZTA head of corporate affairs, Mr Godfrey Koti, said it has been a tough time for tourism under Covid-19 but they are excited that the sector is now on the rebound on the back of strategies being implemented by the various sector players.

“We are expectant that the Sanganai/Hlanganani World Tourism Expo will also help us to reposition destination Zimbabwe into a world class marketing platform that will also in turn, give us the requisite receipts for the tourism sector as we chase our goal of reaching a $5 billion economy by 2025,” he said.