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Harare Bureau
Zimbabwe Tourism Authority has struck a business deal with Kenya Tourism Board which will see the two countries sharing tourism business. The deal followed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the two bodies at the Magical Kenya Tourism fair last week.
Tourism arrivals should increase through the facilitation of travel arrangements by the local tourism body to Nairobi while the Kenyan authorities will also facilitate the arrangements to Victoria Falls.
Speaking from Malaysia where he is attending the World Tourism Conference, ZTA chief executive Mr Karikoga Kaseke said they agreed on a deal with the Kenyan Tourism Authority and expected it to be signed soon.
“The deal is done and sealed, what is only left for us is to make sure that what we agreed on is implemented.
“Managing director of Kenyan Holidays which is a subsidiary of Kenyan Airways Mr Muriithi Ndengwa is coming to Zimbabwe before the end of the year as part of the deal that we signed,” Mr. Kaseke said.
“This will see a lot of tourists visiting both countries thereby boosting revenue for the national fiscus.”
He also said Zimbabwe’s participation in the Kenyan tourism fair was a brilliant opportunity for the country to learn what nations like Kenya are doing.
“In terms of tourism business, Zimbabwe has not been very close to Kenya and through the signing of the deal, a lot of business is going to come out.
“Traffic agreements are already in place — those are arrangements pertaining to the movement of tourists through conducive means to their desired destinations,” he said.
Mr Kaseke also urged the Government to pursue integration with other African countries in order to realise the full potential of the tourism industry.
“As ZTA we really appreciate the Government’s funding of tourism projects but much still has to be done to make sure there is provision of the adequate financial support so that Zimbabwe would be able to meet the demands of the world market.
“This year the Kenyan government provided $3 million for the fair and our Government injected $600 000 for Sanganai/Hlanganani and if you can look at the difference in figures it can be seen that we still have a long way to go towards matching the level of other tourism giants,” he said.
According to Mr Kaseke magical Kenya tourism fair attracted 200 quality buyers, most of them coming from Asia and America.
“The conference in Malaysia is looking at how best nations can improve domestic tourism, since it is another initiative of reaping maximum revenue in the tourism sector.”
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter