dyton mupawaenda
Herald Reporter
The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Eswatini Tourism Authority at the ongoing Africa Travel Indaba in Durban, South Africa, to establish a legal framework for the advancement of institutional and business cooperation between the two entities.
The MoU will facilitate joint marketing of tourism products and the creation of promotional campaigns to boost domestic, regional, and international tourism, amongst other initiatives.
Zimbabwe’s Minister of Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Mangaliso Ndlovu and his Eswatini counterpart, Moses Vilakati witnessed the signing ceremony.
“We’ve just got another ally in the marketing of tourism in the Southern African region.
“Most of our key source markets are long haul markets, and as they come to this part of the world, we would like them to visit a couple of countries before they head back.
“Adding Eswatini to the network is a welcome development. The Royal Kingdom of Eswatini’s airline started flying into Zimbabwe, and this makes the connectivity between the two countries easy and allows for a smoother movement between the two countries. Above this the two authorities will benefit from benchmarking activities,” said ZTA chief executive Ms Winnie Muchanyuka.
Eswatini Tourism chief executive, Ms Linda Nxumalo said she was delighted to sign the MoU with the ZTA.
“We’re excited to be entering into this partnership with the ZTA. This comes after His Majesty King Mswati visited Zimbabwe, and while there, he emphasised that we must partner and collaborate on issues of tourism.
“The MoU will focus on the collaboration on issues of destination promotion and marketing. Tour operator product educational programmes, staff exchange programmes, and cultural and culinary exchange programmes,” Ms Nxumalo said.
Zimbabwe’’s Ambassador to South Africa, David Hamadziripi, expressed excitement at the new business partnership, particularly coming hot on the heels of Eswatini Air’s return to Zimbabwe.
Online Reporter