Zim heads to World Tourism Fair – NewZimbabwe.com

By Alois Vinga

THE Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) is set to promote the country at the forthcoming World Tourism Fair, International Tourism Bourse (ITB) set to kick off today (7/3/23) in Berlin, Germany.

The world’s largest tourism fair where several companies including hotels, tourist boards, tour operators, represented from over 150 countries provide a lucrative opportunity to promote one of the country’s highest foreign currency earning sectors.

Speaking on the scheduled ITB Berlin mission, the ZTA Chief Executive, Winnie Muchanyuka reiterated the need for Zimbabwe to take advantage of the foundation laid by the government to aggressively market destination Zimbabwe in source markets.

“With the positive developments experienced in the tourism sector of late, there has never been an opportune time for Zimbabwe to reposition itself than this. It is encouraging to note that the international market is rejuvenated, ready to travel, and has renewed interest in destination Zimbabwe,” she said.

She further stressed her gratitude to the industry for its efforts in boldly pursuing tourism recovery.

“We’re grateful to the industry for working tirelessly to reposition the destination as a must visit. There is, however, a need for a concerted bid to continuously improve our service delivery as we seek to reclaim our glory of yesteryears,” she added.

Germany is ranked as the second highest generator of arrivals from Europe into Zimbabwe after the United Kingdom, contributing 23 980 arrivals recorded in 2022, compared to 37 984 arrivals attained in the pre- pandemic era in 2019.

This momentum and trajectory can only be sustained by Zimbabwe’s participation at ITB Berlin and other related international travel fairs as well as investment in other market recovery strategies such as intensified market representation, trade development, media relations, destination campaigns, advertising, events marketing and digital marketing.

Among the participating players are Rainbow Tourism Group, Cresta Hospitality, Wild Horizons, Victoria Falls Hotel, Zimbabwe Parks Management and Wildlife Authority and the Airports Company of Zimbabwe.