Zimbabwe losing out on tourists from SA

Tourist arrivals from South Africa - a major source market for Zimbabwe - have fallen by 15 percent in the last two years mainly due currency depreciation, Parliament heard on Wednesday.

Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Walter Mzembi told the National Assembly the waning value of the South African Rand against the US dollar was one of the major challenges affecting the local tourism sector.

Zimbabwe adopted use of multi-currencies in 2009, but transactions are mainly carried out using the US dollar.

"South Africa is a source market and in fact 70 percent of visitors into Zimbabwe are actually derived or they come from South Africa whether by extension because they have visited South Africa or South Africans themselves," he said.

"The weakening Rand against the US dollar is making our destination uncompetitive and in the last two years we have suffered 15 percent successive declines in arrivals from South Africa because of currency imbalances between the Rand and the US dollar."

Minister Mzembi said the tourism sector was also suffering from other challenges including stringent visa requirements. He said Zimbabwe had "to review very vigorously this aspect of entry through visas."

"Ideally, if you want to enjoy tourism income you must stretch your arms and welcome the world."

Zimbabwe's tourism sector is on the rebound following years of decline due to negative publicity from Western media in nearly two decades after the country implemented agrarian reforms to correct colonial land imbalances.

Despite the improvement, the industry still faces challenges that include inadequate infrastructure and limited air connectivity.

To counter the challenges, government is working on various initiatives and has introduced a policy focused on tourism development.