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Hoteliers, tour and adventure operators in the resort town said yesterday that after recording low tourist arrivals in January, the numbers were now picking up.

The resort town was a hive of activity over the festive season with the major attraction other than the mighty Victoria Falls Rainforest being the Vic-Falls Carnival that attracted thousands of tourists as it featured the likes of Zahara from South Africa and Zimbabwe’s own superstar, Oliver Mtukudzi.

However, after the festive season, there was a big slump in arrivals of locals, regional and international tourists mainly due to financial constraints as tourists were coming from the festive season, a period characterised by high spending.

In an interview, Shearwater Adventures group public relations manager Mr Clement Mukwasi said from the beginning of February, the industry had noticed a notable increase in arrivals.

“I think we are doing fine as compared to January. January has always been a very bad month for us as the tourism sector because many travellers would have just returned home from the festive season.

“However, I am glad to note that we are now witnessing an increase in arrivals especially from tourists coming from the East that include China and Japan,” he said.

Mr Israel Rupiya of Silver Tours said they were enjoying better business compared to January.

“We have come to appreciate the little that we are getting because if there were really no tourists coming, we would have all shut down.

“The numbers are slowly picking up which is an encouraging development for the sector,” he said.

Other operators said the fact that the country was co-hosting the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) general assembly had kept them going.

“We are assured that after the general assembly, the country will be back in its rightful position as the destination of choice.

“Right now whatever the number of arrivals we get do not really matter because there is light at the end of the tunnel,” said a manager at one of the hotels.

The general assembly set for August is according to the Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Engineer Walter Mzembi, a marketing opportunity for branding Zimbabwe.

“What we must be focusing on is the post-general assembly benefits,” he said recently.