Government urged to resolve the Air Zimbabwe pilots impasse

Stakeholders in the tourism sector have called on the government to quickly resolve the Air Zimbabwe pilots impasse to enable easy access and travel of both local and international tourists during the Easter holidays.

With a few days before the Easter holidays, stakeholders in tourism sector have raised concern at inability of the national airline to service local tourism destinations such as Victoria Falls due to the ongoing industrial action.

In an interview Safari Operators Association of Zimbabwe President, Mr Emmanuel Fundira said though tourist arrival figures have improved tremendously over the last year, access has been compromised by the impasse at Air Zimbabwe.

Despite the Air Zimbabwe problem, ZTA Spokesperson, Mr Sugar Chagonda however urged Zimbabweans to take advantage of cheaper special holiday rates to visit places of interest throughout the country.

He said ZTA has also engaged local financial institutions to avail credit facilities for holiday makers through a facility called "enjoy now and pay later."

Domestic tourism contributes more than 60% of the national tourism income and at a time when business was low after international tourists were given travel warnings and bans, the sector survived through domestic tourists.