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ZIMBABWE made about US$600 million in tourism revenue in 2022 as the industry rebounded from Covid-19 shocks, the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) has said.
ZTA said there was a 96 percent increase in domestic entries at national parks last year.
ZTA attributed the rise in tourism to the resumption of air travel, which it believes will contribute to a better 2023 outlook.
In a podcast, ZTA corporate affairs manager, Godfrey Koti, said the tourism industry experienced a boom following the opening up of global markets and relaxed travel restrictions owing to reduced Covid-19 pandemic infections.
“We released our figures for January to September recently, and they indicate that there is positive activity across the tourism sector.
“If you look at our average occupancy rates, they rose pretty much in the fourth quarter, and we also got huge increases in domestic entries at national parks in the local market.
“There was an increase of 96 percent compared to the previous year. From our overseas arrivals, there was a significant increase of about 256 percent, compared to the same period in 2021.”
Koti said there was 130 percent tourist arrivals from the African continent.
“So, all in all, at an average, we saw a 160 percent increase from the perspective of money that has been received. We generated almost US$600 million, compared to about US$244 million in the same period in 2021.
“So again, the magnificent change is because there was no business in 2021 because of the restrictions,” said Koti
Online Reporter