Call on China to invest in Zim tourism sector

Leonard Ncube Victoria Falls Reporter
Zimbabwe has the capacity to boost its tourism sector to greater heights through bilateral relations with China, Matabeleland North Provincial Minister Cain Mathema has said. Ambassador Mathema said this while briefing a delegation comprising a visiting member of the Community Party of China and their Zanu-PF counterparts at the Victoria Falls International Airport last week.

Ambassador Mathema took the opportunity to invite more investors from China, to venture into the tourism sector from the traditional construction where most Chinese companies have partnered the government.

“As a province we have a lot of sectors from mining, farming, timber and even water projects which need investors who can partner us.
“We welcome you to the province which is the centre of tourism in Zimbabwe and we would love to see China investing in all these areas,” said Ambassador Mathema.

“China is a huge market,” said Ambassador Mathema, adding: “We hope that with the completion of Victoria Falls International Airport we would have direct flights from Beijing and that would obviously boost our tourism which currently contributes 10 percent to the Gross Domestic Product. We have seen an increasing number of tourists and we hope we will have more visitors from China as well.”

He said China on its own had the capacity to challenge the whole world economically hence the need for Zimbabwe to harness the opportunity.

“Yes we have visitors from across the world but that can be balanced with China,” he said.
The tourism sector is one of the mainstays of Zimbabwe’s economy.

The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) has projected that Zimbabwe’s tourism industry will this year grow by 4.4 percent on the back of strong demand from international markets.

WTTC said last year, the country’s total contribution of travel and tourism to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was $857.9 million (11.4 percent of GDP.

WTTC is a global authority on economic and social contribution of travel and tourism.
It promotes sustainable growth for the industry, working with governments and international institutions to create jobs, to drive exports and to generate prosperity.