Andrew
Sunday Mail Reporter
The introduction of a new service connecting Harare and Victoria Falls to Hwange National Park and Kariba by Fastjet is expected to boost domestic tourism by facilitating easy access to the two tourism destinations, Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) chief executive officer Ms Winnie Muchanyuka has said.
The new service will commence during the first quarter of next year.
“We are really looking forward to this new development,” said Ms Muchanyuka.
“As you know, you need an entire day to travel from Harare to Hwange by road and at least half a day to travel to Kariba.
“With the introduction of these flights, it means one just needs an hour to reach these destinations.
“This creates a conducive environment for growth of the sector.”
She said lack of direct flights to these two destinations was hampering tourism.
“Fast access to Kariba and Hwange National Park will definitely encourage an increase in uptake of various tourist activities. All foreign businesspeople who visit Harare for business with limited time can now visit and experience our leisure destinations,” she said.
The additional routes to the airline’s domestic network will offer seamless connections for travellers from Harare and Victoria Falls to Kariba and Hwange.
Announcing the introduction of the new service, Fastjet chief commercial officer Ms Vivian Ruwuya said: “Working closely with industry stakeholders and partners, including Airports Company of Zimbabwe and the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe, we continue to explore ways to further develop the domestic Zimbabwean flight network.
“We are delighted to announce that our new flights to Hwange and Kariba from our tourism hub of Victoria Falls and our Harare base will be supported with onward connections on Mack Air/South West Aviation into the Hwange National Park, the lodges of the Kariba eastern basin and the camps and operations in Mana Pools and the lower Zambezi.
“Mack Air, with South West Aviation, will be developing a new hub at Kariba, along with their existing hubs in Victoria Falls and Harare to support these seamless connections to and from Fastjet’s services.”
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