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Walter Nyamukondiwa Kariba Bureau
ZIMBABWE’s re-engagement and investment drive has attracted the attention of the world with a senior official from leading international airline — Qatar Airways — visiting the country last week to explore the possibility of the airline flying into the country.
This comes as the destination has been named among the Top 10 honeymoon destinations for 2020 by American magazine Harpers Bazaar describing Zimbabwe as being on a “renaissance period”.
Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) director airport services Mr Tawanda Gusha confirmed that the executive arrived in the country on Wednesday and left on Thursday.
“We confirm that a senior executive from Qatar Airways was in the country to confirm the viability of servicing the route. We have approached several airlines and Qatar Airways is one of them,” said Mr Gusha.
“There is nothing concrete that we can talk about at the moment but engagements are still ongoing and positive.”
However, renowned travel writer and pilot Mr Jerry Haas also confirmed the visit on microblogging site Twitter saying there are already tentative plans in place.
He said once an agreement is finalised, Qatar Airways is expected to fly to Hrare four times a week.
Mr Haas said the tentative launch date for the Doha-Harare flight was in the third quarter of this year before hinting that route announcement was expected at the forthcoming major global trade show.
“Another team from Qatar Airways is in Harare finalising on the Zimbabwe service. Initial dates of launch have been set for 3Q 2020 on a four- times weekly service.
“Route announcements expected at a major global trade show by CEO Akbar Al Baker,” said Mr Haas in the tweet.
Headquartered in Doha, the airline operates a hub-and-spoke network, linking over 150 international destinations across Africa, Asia, Europe, The Americas, and Oceania from its base at Hamad International Airport, using a fleet of more than 200 aircraft. Qatar Airways Group employs more than 43 000 people.
The carrier has been a member of the Oneworld alliance since October 2013, the first Gulf carrier to sign with one of the three airline alliances,, according to Wikipedia.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe’s transition has not gone unnoticed after American magazine Harpers Bazaar nominated Zimbabwe as one of the top 10 honeymoon destinations for 2020.
This comes as the country has also been named by Bloomberg among the Top 24 must-visit destinations for 2020 on the strength of abundant wildlife and qualified guides, among others.
Topping the reasons for being an exceptional honeymoon destination, according to Harpers Bazaar, were the new innovations including the glamping phenomenon which combines luxury and the outdoor experience.
This is being touted as being an environmentally friendly way of holidaying eliminating the need for air-conditioning and refrigeration among other unclean energy activities.
African Sun hotels including Caribbea Bay in Kariba are currently setting up the luxury camps which are relatively cheaper for the unconventional experience.
Zimbabwe has registered major strides in attracting tourists into the country and as a result of that effort it was named in the top three must-visit destinations for 2019, according to the Lonely Planet.
Online Reporter