Innocent Madonko
Deputy Editor
THE Zambezi Helicopter Company, which conducts daily “flights of angels” over the Victoria Falls rainforest, sits on an expansive piece of land off the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls road (5km from the Falls) after relocating from its previous location at the entrance to the iconic Elephant Hills hotel last year.
The new premises, which offer tourists a premium experience encompassing champagne and snacks, have also allowed the company an opportunity to also add to its fleet of helicopters and pilots. Other helicopter companies are also to be found in the vicinity of Zambezi Helicopters after also heeding a directive from authorities to move away from the immediate environs of top hotels in the resort town.
The noise from the constant shuttle of helicopters to and from the rainforest was an irritant to guests in hotels while wildlife in the Zambezi National Park (which encompasses most of Victoria Falls) was also getting agitated.
Presented with lemons, you make lemonade.
While initially reluctant to relocate from its home of over 30 years, Zambezi Helicopters has used its bigger space to increase its fleet, offer tourists a VIP experience and establish a helicopter service centre. Its new state of the art terminal building is a sight to behold.
From a fleet of five helicopters before the Covid 19 pandemic in 2020, the company now boasts eight helicopters and a squadron of nine pilots. Its service centre not only caters for the company’s helicopters but services helicopters from other operators in Victoria Falls and the nearby resorts in Zambia.
Indeed business is booming.
Elsewhere in the resort town, Victoria Falls Safari Collection has added to its growing list of offerings with the imminent launch of Albida – a luxury 16 room facility comprising 10 deluxe (one bedroom) and three family (2 bedroom) villas. Set for a grand launch next month, the new product was completed last month and has already started taking bookings.
Described as a product for the discerning tourist, it offers a fully inclusive package suited to deep pocketed individuals with a taste for the finer things in life. Located next to the 5-star Victoria Falls Safari Suites which celebrated Manchester United legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson made a temporary home when he visited Zimbabwe in March 2025, Albida promises a home away from home experience complete with a butler service.
“As you know we have been operating in the four-five-star category with our existing business, and we saw the need and the gap that was there in the market. Most of our guests that end up in Victoria Falls have done Cape Town, they have done the Kruger, Sabi Sands, Okavango Delta and they stay in these properties where its fully inclusive,” said Africa Albida Tourism Group Sales and Marketing Director, Mr Anald Musonza.
“So they pay for everything and they can safely put their wallet in the safe until they get back home. We realized that there was that gap when they come into the destination where they will eventually have to pay for a coke or anything as small as lunch. In that regard we have to develop a product that allows those more discerning clients who want that more ultra-luxury to be able to have an all-inclusive package and all-inclusive facility that is also at a different luxury offering”.
He said they had also invested in a 1 megawatt solar plant whose installation was concluded last month, allowing the Albida Group to completely go off grid.
The solar farm, comprising 1,296 panels, has seen the group cutting its energy bill by 80 percent.
It’s not peak tourism season yet (peak arrivals are July to October) but players in the industry in Victoria Falls are confident that the year will end on a good note.
Mr Warren Ncube, Head of Marketing and Tourism Operations at the Zambezi helicopter Company, whose parent company is Shearwater, said on a good day, they were handling more than 450 clients who take the 35-45-minute flight of angels.
“Our average daily figure is around 250 but with this new state of the art terminal building, our numbers are impressive. We once hit 458 passengers. That’s the most we have flown. So it’s not bad”.
Mr Ncube said they are getting support from different source markets.
“We have always gotten business from Western Europe and the USA but we are now getting a lot of traffic from other parts of the world as well. We have had a lot of Chinese guests, so it’s a niche that we are very excited about and I think it explains the growth as well,” he said.
Local tourism has also been on the rebound since Covid but road travel is being curtailed by the rehabilitation of the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls highway.
However, with the Cricket World Cup set for Victoria Falls next year, there is reason for optimism in the tourism sector – one of the country’s top foreign currency earners.
“We are very excited… I saw the fixtures (World Cup) came out. The cricket stadium is coming up nicely and we will host very tasty matches here in Victoria Falls. So that in itself we know it’s going to bring us business and this city if you look around, it is growing. We have a lot of stare of the art properties sprouting around.
“Looking at the next two years, we think there will be growth everywhere,” said Mr Ncube.
Airlines flying into Victoria Flls have also reported brisk business with Fastjet extending the operation of its Airbus A320 plying the Johannesburg-Victoria Falls route, introduced in August, through to the end of the year due to high demand.
The 168-seater aircraft was brought in to support peak holiday travel between August and September but will now operate in October and December with a break in November.
In addition to the airbus, the airline also has flights between Harare-Victoria Falls, Bulawayo-Victoria Falls and Kruger (Mpumalanga) to Victoria Falls.
