Story by Tichaona Kurewa
Government says the strategic deployment of tourism attachés to key international markets is yielding positive results, with a significant increase in tourist arrivals recorded this year.
The Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Honourable Barbra Rwodzi, told ZBC News in Victoria Falls recently that these dedicated professionals are playing a pivotal role in promoting the country’s unique tourism offerings to the world.
“We instructed our tourism attachés to look for just five authentic buyers to come for Sanganai. We have seen China brought 18, UK brought more than the numbers we wanted. There are a number of them who brought more than the numbers that we wanted of authentic buyers. Now we are seeing exchange of business between them and our local buyers. We are also seeing the numbers rising because we are engaging with the local buyers to say what are the results, and we are seeing some of the buyers in this country engaging direct with the ministry through the attaché again asking for more business, asking for more prospects and even investments. There is an improvement when it comes to marketing and even development through the tourism attachés,” she said.
The Minister also hinted that in 2025 more attachés will be deployed to six countries such as Canada and Australia.
Tourism stakeholders unanimously agreed on the effectiveness of deploying tourism attachés, emphasising their crucial role in marketing Zimbabwe.
“In the short time the attache to India has been in office, she organised a webinar which put players in the industry in touch with players from India who created awareness and educated us on the Indian market which was very effective as it’s important to understand the market you are trying to reach. The interest generated from this webinar culminated in this trip to India for 17 people which was very effective. In a short space of time we were able to meet and engage with over 100 top travel agents/tour operators. We only visited one city, but having an attache there means she can cover much more ground in marketing Zimbabwe and also guide future marketing efforts based on the trends there and her experiences,” said tourism executive, Ms Yvonne Jandles.
The majestic Victoria Falls, one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, Matobo Hills, the pristine Hwange National Park, and the Great Zimbabwe Monuments, among others, are some of the irresistible tourist attractions in the country.
