Nomad_Africa_Edition12

“Easy access to any
destination
is a major determinant
to travel by tourists worldwide. Most
destinations are even going a step
further by becoming visa free, in
order to increase tourists travelling
to their destinations; hence this move
by Zimbabwe is a step in the right
direction to promote increased travel
from China and other countries into
Zimbabwe, increasing the country’s
destination competitiveness. It is also
encouraging that this relaxation is
not only limited to China, but [extends]
to 36 other countries
announced, including Equatorial
Guinea, Iran, Algeria, Turkey and
Cuba, among others.”
market for all levels of tourism, group and highend
FIT, that Zimbabwe can attract and benefit
from. Zimbabwe has a number of outstanding
tourist attractions like Victoria Falls, Great Zimbabwe
and many wonderful national parks that
are abundant with wildlife, and a broad range
of accommodation options in each destination
to cater for the Chinese traveller.”
The announcement was made during a handover
of furniture and equipment to the Department
of Immigration and the Zimbabwe
Republic Police in Harare recently.
“Easy access to any destination is a major determinant
to travel by tourists worldwide. Most
destinations are even going a step further by
becoming visa free, in order to increase tourists
travelling to their destinations; hence this move
by Zimbabwe is a step in the right direction to
promote increased travel from China and other
countries into Zimbabwe, increasing the country’s
destination competitiveness. It is also encouraging
that this relaxation is not only limited
to China, but [extends] to 36 other countries announced,
including Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Algeria,
Turkey and Cuba, among others,” says
Kaseke.
The change in the visa regime becomes effective
on July 1, “although it has already been implemented
on the business delegation that
visited Zimbabwe for the Zimbabwe-China Investment
Forum,” says Kaseke. “All were issued
visas hassle-free at the port of entry. The facility
is open for business and leisure travellers.”
Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Huang
Ping, said this decision was made by the Cabinet
and announced by President Emmerson
Mnangagwa in his talks with his counterpart,
President Xi Jinping. “This is one of the significant
outcomes of President Mnangagwa’s state
visit to China early this year,” said Ping. “This policy,
upon implementation, will certainly attract
more Chinese tourists and investors to Zimbabwe,
injecting new impetus to its development.
As more Chinese come, there will be a
growing demand for better service and management
of them in terms of the visa, working
and residence permits and other security-related
issues arising from there.”
Rennie says: “Now that China has Category B
status for visas, Zimbabwe is a far easier destination
for Chinese to travel to. Furthermore, air
access from China to southern Africa is improving
all the time with new carriers connecting
the two.”
“According to the World Economic Forum
Competitiveness reports, Zimbabwe is ranked
number one in the region in terms of safety,”
said Chitepo. “Your readers need to take advantage
of this peace dividend and send their
tourists to Zimbabwe, as they will have memorable
experiences,” she says. “This applies to
both leisure and business travellers.”
The Secretary concluded: “Following the coming
in of the new dispensation, my message is:
Zimbabwe is open for business, in line with
what our President, His Excellency Emmerson
D. Mnangagwa has enunciated. I have been to
most of the marketing platforms, (FITUR – Spain,
ITB – Berlin, Africa’s Travel Indaba – Durban, We
are Africa – Cape Town, and Arabian Travel
Market, to mention a few), since I took office in
December 2017, and this has been my message
to the travel industry. Zimbabwe is ready to receive
visitors, and we have put everything in
place to ensure that travel is facilitated. I am
pleased to say that the response has been encouraging
as we have witnessed a phenomenal
48% growth in arrivals during the first
quarter of 2018 compared to the same period
in 2017. This is attributable to the fact that Zimbabwe
is a safe and peaceful destination apart
from being extremely attractive.”
i
Source: www.tourismupdate.co.za.
Issue 12 | ...Celebrating the world’s richest continent | www.nomadafricamag.com | 89