A 10-member delegation of Canadian journalists and tour operators arrived in Zimbabwe for a weeklong tour of the country's resort and tourist centers, local media reported on Monday.

The visit, which is being coordinated by the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority in conjunction with the Zimbabwean Embassy in Canada, seeks to familiarize the Canadian media and tour operators with Zimbabwe's tourist destinations, The Herald said.

The tourism authority's Chief Executive Officer Karikoga Kaseke said the visit was part of his organisation's program, adding that the other purpose of the familiarization program was to instill confidence in the Canadian media crew and tour operators so that they could recognize Zimbabwe as a competitive holiday destination.

As part of the familiarization tour, the Canadian journalists and tour operators would visit Great Zimbabwe, the Antelope Park, Hwange, Matopos, Bulawayo and the Victoria Falls.

The visit followed the re-inclusion of Zimbabwe in the holiday packages by major tour operators in Canada who dropped Zimbabwe from their holiday packages five years ago following the negative publicity the country received from the west.

This year alone, a total of 70 groups visited the country on familiarization tours of which 26 were media houses and 44 tour operators.

Among the groups hosted by the ZTA this year were French opinion leaders, the Chinese BTV crew, Russian journalists and tour operators as well as many other tour operators from Britain.

Source: Xinhua