adminTawanda Musarurwa Business Reporter
ZIMBABWE has the potential to boost its tourism receipts given its long-standing bilateral ties with China. Last year China’s expenditure on travel abroad reached US$102 billion, according to a ‘United Nations World Tourism Organisation Tourism Highlights 2013’ report released earlier this year.
This was a 40 percent jump from 2011 when it amounted to US$73 billion.
That figure makes China the top tourism source market in the world in terms of spending.
Zimbabwe and China have historically strong bilateral ties, and it is about time our tourism authorities turned this colossal figure to our advantage.
In 2006 Zimbabwe and China signed a preferred destination access agreement expected to lead to an increased inflow of Chinese visitors to the country.
The Approved Destination Status by China gives Chinese nationals the green light to travel to approved destinations, such as Zimbabwe.
But the inflow has been below expectations.
Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Walter Mzembi said there was need to work on improving the country’s preferential tourism pact with China in order to lure more visitors from that country.
He was speaking on the side-lines of the just ended Sanganai/Hlanganani World Travel and Tourism Africa Fair in Harare.
“Our preferred destination access agreement is not operating as we would want to see it happen,” he said.
China is a key tourist source market for Zimbabwe; it is in fact a key tourist source for most tourist destinations across the world.
Over the past decade China has been, and still is, by far the fastest-growing tourism source market in the world.
According to the UNWTO report, this is as a result of rapid urbanisation, rising disposable incomes and relaxation of restrictions on foreign travel, which has seen the volume of international trips by Chinese travellers growing from 10 million in 2000 to 83 million last year.
The figures show that expenditure by Chinese tourists abroad has also increased almost eightfold since 2000.
Boosted by an appreciating Chinese currency, Chinese travellers spent a record US$102 billion in international tourism in 2012.
In terms of tourism expenditure, the figures show that in 2005 China ranked seventh in international tourism expenditure, and has since successively overtaken Italy, Japan, France and the United Kingdom.
With the surge last year, China leaped to first place, surpassing both top spender Germany and second largest spender the United States (both close to US$84 billion in 2012).
Meanwhile, some of the other emerging markets have also increased their share of world tourism spending over the past decade.
Among the world’s top 10 source markets by expenditure, the Russian Federation saw an increase of 32 percent in 2012, to US$43 billion, bringing it from the seventh to fifth place in the ranking of international tourism spending.
Another emerging economy that has made significant strides in tourism of tourism expenditure is Brazil, with an expenditure of US$22 billion in 2012, moving to 12th place up from 29th place in 2005.
“Emerging economies continue to lead growth in tourism demand” said UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai in the report.
“The impressive growth of tourism expenditure from China and Russia reflects the entry into the tourism market of a growing middle class from these countries, which will surely continue to change the map of world tourism,” he added.
But it remains important not to ignore the traditional sources in Europe and the Americas as most traditional tourism source markets also showed positive results last year.
Spending on travel abroad from Germany and the United States grew by 6 percent each. Spending from the UK (US$52 billion) grew by 4 percent and the country retained its fouth place in the list of major source markets.
Expenditure by Canada grew by 7 percent, while both Australia and Japan grew by 3 percent. On the other hand, France (-6 percent) and Italy (-1 percent) were the only markets in the top 10 to record a decline in international tourism spending.
The figures contained in the UNWTO report should make interesting reading for governments and businesses intent on boosting their sources of revenues.
Online Reporter