HARARE – Zimbabwe registered a 115% rise in tourist arrivals to 352,719, compared with the same period in
2021, during the first half of 2022, latest statistics reveal.
Domestic visits into the national parks rose by 90% from 90,909 in 2021, to 172,481 during the period January to May 2022.
As a result, the tourism receipts increased by 121% in 2022 to US$337.5 million, compared to the same period last year, said Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube during his 2023 budget presentation yesterday.
The tourism industry is expected to continue to grow in the outlook, benefiting from the recovery in international tourism, coming in of new players in the aviation sector and meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE).
“Therefore, tourists’ arrivals are expected to increase to 1.4 million in 2023, whilst tourism receipts are projected at US$623 million,” Ncube said.
Authorities are aiming to grow the sector through International Tourism Marketing and Promotion.
“In 2023, Government will increase marketing and promotion efforts through the deployment of tourism attachés at our embassies to aggressively promote destination Zimbabwe in key source markets that include China, France, Germany, India, Japan, South Africa, UAE, the United Kingdom and the United States of America,” Ncube continued.
“The deployment of attachés will be complemented by active participation at flagship regional and international tourism meetings, conferences and exhibitions (MICE Tourism), marketing and promoting Zimbabwe’s tourism to the
world through promotion programmes like VisitZimbabwe, MeetInZimbabwe and InvestInZimbabwe campaigns.”
Image building and promotion will also be central in growing the sector through hosting of tourism opinion leaders and influencers, as well as organising familiarisation tours for media houses from key international tourist source markets.
Priority will also be given towards intensifying marketing efforts across the various digital marketing platforms. This is also in sync with Government’s engagement and re-engagement thrust.
The domestic tourism market largely sustained operations of the industry during the COVID-19 pandemic, with domestic entries into National Parks in 2021 increasing to 251 088, compared to 173 714 in 2020.
To sustain the resilience of the domestic tourism industry, Government will intensify domestic tourism through necessary campaigns and promotions, such as ZimBho/IZimYami programmes.
Mthuli further announced that the 2023 Budget has allocated ZWL$725 million towards the capitalisation of Mosi Oa Tunya Development Company Private Limited, a special purpose vehicle created to spearhead tourism infrastructure development in Victoria Falls, particularly focusing on offsite and onsite infrastructure for the Victoria Falls Special Economic Zone, that is expected to crowd in private sector investments in tourism.
