Destination Zimbabwe charms South African motorists
Story by Tichaona Kurewa
A group of South African motorists who were recently in the country for a trial run ahead of the Cape to Cairo Race have been charmed by Destination Zimbabwe.
The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has confirmed the positive turnaround in Zimbabwe’s tourism sector, with the latest world tourism barometer revealing that the country is increasingly becoming the most sought-after tourist destination.
This has also been confirmed by several high-profile figures including sports personalities who have flocked to Zimbabwe in recent months with the latest being the Cape to Cairo Race team.
“Amazing, the Falls are arguably the best falls in the world, we are excited to be here. We have been talking about the Falls for a long time, it’s an iconic land market and an amazing experience. The people have been great, sirens and hooters, it has been a spectacular triple received a lot of support along the way we appreciate,” said Team Leader, Mr Sanda Zungu.
The team exudes confidence with one key objective of showcasing Africa to the world.
He added, “We are doing trials for the trip, which is next year, we have covered about four countries, Eswatini, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. We are now back in Zimbabwe we are training for Cape to Cairo2024, 1200km covering 12 countries. This is our second trial run, the first trial run was in South Africa and now we want our team to familiarise ourselves with border crossing protocols in preparation for the ultimate trip in September 2024. The ultimate objective of the trip is to show Africa to the world, how wonderful Africa is, as you know Africa has been given a bad reputation over the years.”
Local tourism players are equally excited about the benefits of the initiative in the turnaround of the sector after the COVID-19 setback.
“|This will certainly open Africa to Africans. We appreciate having this team here as it will put Zimbabwe on the global map. This team is now our ambassadors out there and it will certainly work for the sector,” said Tour Operator, Mr Innocent Mukute.
Zimbabwe is targeting a US$5 billion tourism industry by 2025 and players in the sector are working hand in glove with the government to meet the set target.
