Zimbabwean tour operators keen on booming Chinese market

At least nine Zimbabwean tour companies will participate in an international travel fair in China in November this year to woo more Chinese tourists to the southern African country, the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) announced Friday in Harare.

"This is a good opportunity for the country to showcase and promote itself to the Chinese market as there will be room for presentations and media coverage," Takaruza Munyanyiwa, ZTA tourism attache in China, told a meeting centering on preparations for the China International Travel Market (CITM) show to be held in Shanghai and Kunming from Nov. 25 to 28.

He said the CITM was one of the many marketing opportunities Zimbabwe could exploit to penetrate the booming market of the Chinese who travel abroad.

Zimbabwe's Ministry of Environment and Tourism predicted that the number of the Chinese tourists to the country would jumped to 25,000 this year from some 10,000 last year, largely because Zimbabwe was granted the Approved Destination Status by China.

Called "Africa's Paradise," Zimbabwe boasts world-famous attractions such as Victoria Falls. The country is also the home to Africa's most famous animals, such as elephant, lion, buffalo, leopard and zebra.

Zimbabwe was voted the most exciting destination, ahead of some of the most established countries in Europe, at a tourism trade fair in China last month, Munyanyiwa said.

"This shows the potential Zimbabwe has in the Chinese and Asian market as a whole," he said.

Predictable influx of Chinese tourists has prompted the Zimbabwean government to open a special tourism office in Beijing, while training local employees to speak Mandarin and cook Chinese food for better service.