Zimbabwe seeks to attract more Chinese tourists: minister

HARARE, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwean Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry Barbara Rwodzi on Wednesday said the Southern African country seeks to attract more Chinese tourists as its tourism industry recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Responding to a question from Xinhua during a press conference in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, Rwodzi said she is impressed by the huge interest from the Chinese tourism buyers, as they constitute the biggest number of foreign buyers that have confirmed participation in the country's premier tourism expo that will be held in the second-largest city of Bulawayo from Sept. 12 to 14.

"I am happy to say that we have more Chinese buyers within the group of international buyers that are coming for the expo. Out of a total of 101 hosted international buyers, we have the biggest number from China," she said. "The number of Chinese tourists visiting Zimbabwe after COVID-19 is increasing but not to the level that we have been expecting. So we are enticing the Chinese people to come to Zimbabwe a lot."

Meanwhile, Rwodzi said Zimbabwe continues to experience post-COVID-19 tourism recovery, with the sector recording significant growth after international tourist arrivals increased 27 percent in the first half of this year, and the tourism receipts jumped 24 percent during the same period.

She said the sector continues to be a vital contributor to Zimbabwe's economy, accounting for about 5.7 percent of gross domestic product and 3.5 percent of national employment, underscoring its pivotal role in advancing economic development and job creation.

Zimbabwe is poised to achieve a 5-billion-U.S. dollars tourism economy by 2025 with the influx of more investments into the sector, coupled with improvements in enabling infrastructure such as airports and road networks, said the minister.