Good times continue to roll for Zim tourism industry

Innocent Madonko recently in Victoria Falls

ZIMBABWE’s peak tourism season is between the months of July and September, generally a dry period suited for wildlife safaris.

The Victoria Falls are at their magnificent splendour between February and May, when inflows into the Zambezi river at their highest and the curtain of water over the falls produces a mist that envelopes the rainforest, reducing visibility to zero from viewing points eight to 15 (final viewing point).

At this time, there is a near permanent cloud created over the falls which lashes the area with showers, a respite for foreign tourists who delight in being drenched to cool off from the energy sapping heat that characterises the resort city.

On Saturday, signs were already there that we are fast approaching peak tourist season with hotels a hive of activity, tour operators scrambling to ferry customers to their preferred activities while a general air of optimism was palpable across the resort city.

The Zambezi river was full to the brim with tourists making a beeline for the rainforest to catch the best view of the falls.

Indeed, Zimbabwe’s premier tourist destination is a microcosm of the wider industry such that when it sneezes, the entire tourism sector catches a cold. Such is its importance that when there were unfounded rumours that the falls were drying up a few years ago, it made international headlines.

Well, our critics can recoil into their shells because the Mighty Victoria Falls is a resort city on the rise with hotels recording full bookings while investment in infrastructure is at an all-time high.

Off the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls, the world class Mosi-oa-Tunya International Cricket Stadium is taking shape in time to host 2027 Cricket World Cup matches while new hotels are sprouting all over the place.

Existing iconic brands such as the Elephant Hills and Victoria Falls Safari Lodge are expanding and refurbishing their properties in preparation for the expected boom in tourist numbers in the future.

2025 was a good year for Zimbabwe’s tourism sector with the country voted the best tourism destination in the world by renowned magazine – Forbes.

To add a feather to its cap, Zimbabwe scooped two prestigious accolades at the Pacific Area Travel Writers Association Awards held on the sidelines of ITB Berlin 2026 last month.

The country won Destination of the Year – Natural Wonders and Tourism Minister of the Year – Africa, awarded to the Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Barbra Rwodzi.

To put the icing on the cake, Minister Rwodzi was adjudged the best Cabinet Minister of 2025 during the performance contracts signing and awards ceremony in Harare last week.

Speaking to tourism industry players in Victoria Falls, one gets the sense that the sector will continue on an upward trajectory for the foreseeable future.

The doom and gloom brought by the economic challenges of the2008 hyperinflationary era, negative publicity occasioned by the land reform programme, sanctions-induced challenges and the Covid-19 stagnation have been successfully overcome.

The economic stability currently prevailing in the country is a perfect tonic for a growing tourism industry.

Government has also effected a 50 percent reduction in tourism levies, license fees and permits as part of efforts to enhance the ease of doing business.

Addressing journalists on a tour of tourism facilities in Victoria Falls at the weekend, Victoria Falls Safari Collection Head of Sales and Marketing, Mr Anald Musonza, welcomed Government efforts to support the sector while detailing the various initiatives being undertaken to grow their business.

He said one of their key focus areas was the MICE Tourism (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions).

“One of the key focus areas for us has been the development in our business in terms of the MICE business to try and increase traffic inflow into Zimbabwe as a destination and Victoria Falls specifically and into our properties,” said Mr Musonza.

“You can see quite substantive investment that we’ve done in the last two years, starting off with Queen Nandi conference centre, these two breakaway rooms and now we’re doing Indaba, almost to the same level of standard and capacity of Queen Nandi. This to me signals that investments like anything else, follow demand.

“Our board would not have given us money to build these facilities if they did not see the demand and we can see that there’s quite a lot of demand for conferences, meetings, incentives and events into the destination. You are all aware Zimbabwe was voted the best destination to travel to by Forbes 2025 and recently at ITB as well.

“We were voted the best by the Pacific Area Travel Writers Association and our minister voted the best Tourism Minister. That is really the good positive messaging coming from what’s happening in our destination and we’ve seen that we’ve been attracting quite a lot of significant MICE business at a global level”.

He said the MICE business was positively complementing tourist arrivals.

“We have the UN business coming through World Bank. We have hosted the Reserve Bank governors in Africa here, we have hosted the broadcasting corporations in Africa here recently, so you can see that it’s not just the local MICE business that’s coming to us, it’s the international and regional as well. We have strategically started investing heavily in that area because it helps us in terms of picking up that business when there is not normally good business,” said Mr Musonza.

The airline industry has also been doing its part to contribute to the growth of the tourism sector.

Fastjet Zimbabwe will introduce an afternoon flight between Victoria Falls and Johannesburg on 18 April.

The airline connects Victoria Falls to Bulawayo, Harare, Kruger Mpumalanga and Johannesburg as part of ensuring smooth and efficient tourism passenger movement.

“We are delighted to announce the introduction of an additional afternoon flight between our tourism hub of Victoria Falls to Johannesburg, South Africa. “This service will commence on the 18th of April growing into a daily service from the 28th of April”, said Mr Nunurai Ndawana, spokesperson of fastjet Zimbabwe speaking in Victoria Falls on Monday.

“The afternoon flight will provide tourists with added flexibility in their travel while enjoying the Victoria Falls experience more”.

Air Tanzania has introduced the Dar Es Salaam to Victoria Falls route which connects with Cape Town over and above the other airlines that have been coming to Victoria Falls.

Across the river in Livingstone, Proflight, a Zambian airline, has added two flights on the Windhoek route.

Fastjet has a flight from Victoria Falls to Maun creating a golden triangle between Zimbabwe, Zambia and Botswana.

The three international airports (Vic Falls, Livingstone and Kasane) complement each other in terms of air connectivity and transfers.

Tourism operators said they are looking forward to the launch of Air Zimbabwe’s direct flights from Harare to London.

“Fingers crossed, we will get this launch of the London-Harare flight in June. That is one of the most popular routes for us in terms of direct access to Europe.

“So to me we’re seeing really some positive messaging around Zimbabwe as a destination, positive outcomes in terms of the re-engagement that the country is doing right from the leadership to the Minister of Tourism to us as the private sector. There are good things happening all round,” said Mr Musonza.