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Harare Bureau
A nine-member delegation of Indian tour operators arrived in the country yesterday on a fact finding mission that seeks to promote Zimbabwe as a tourist destination of choice to Indians. The delegation, which is being hosted by Love for Africa in collaboration with the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, will travel across the country for five days to get a feel of the tourist destinations in the country.
Love for Africa managing director Mr Blessing Munyenyiwa said there were three challenges that had been limiting the number of tourists from India to the country.
“There was the problem of access where there were no flights connecting Zimbabwe and India, but that has been sorted out as we now have Kenyan Airways and Emirates which flies from Dubai to Harare,” he said.
He said the trip by the tour operators sought to address the issue of knowledge as most Indians had no knowledge of the potential the country had to offer as a tourist destination.
Mr Munyenyiwa said more than 14 million people had travelled out of India in 2012 with more than 100 000 coming to Africa.
“These tour operators were responsible for more than 30 000 tourist arrivals in South Africa last year and only 2 500 tourists came to Zimbabwe from India,” he said.
He said there was hope to increase the number of tourists from India who spend an average of $3 000 to $10 000 on a trip of between five to 10 days from 2 500 to 15 000 within the year.
He reiterated that Government should also play its part in increasing tourist arrivals by relaxing the visa regime as travellers from India have had to wait for two to five weeks before their applications for a visa are processed.
“Zimbabwe should concentrate on getting markets like India because their peak travelling period is between November to June when tourist arrivals in the country are low,” Mr Munyenyiwa said.
He said this would fill in the gap left by the European and American tourists who usually travel between June and October.
The head of business development at India’s Blue Square consultants Ms Lubaina Sheerazi said the tour operators had the potential to sell Zimbabwe in India as more that 60 percent of travellers pass through their offices.
“Although Zimbabwe is competing with other destinations for the Indian market, there is great potential for an upward trend in the number of visitors from India,” she said.
She said this was the first time tour operators from India were trying to understand the local market so that they can sell it to potential visitors.
“Despite the global melt down and the rupee being weak, travel has not gone down. We are a large population and people want to see what Zimbabwe has to offer,” she added.
The delegation is set to visit Kariba, Hwange and Victoria Falls before travelling back to India.
Online Reporter