Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe has noted a 50% increase in tourist arrivals this year, with some hotels fully booked for the rest of the year. This announcement was made by Zimbabwe Tourism Minister, Prisca Mupfumira, on Wednesday, June 20 at a dinner reception for the World Class Football Legends game played earlier that day.

Mupfumira said hotels in the Victoria Falls region last experienced 100% bookings in 1999. She added that similar arrivals numbers were being shown across the country.

Ross Kennedy, Chief Executive of Africa Albida Tourism, told Tourism Update: “Victoria Falls occupancies are indeed on the rise and certainly the last few months of low season in 2018 compare with high season of 1998/1999 for a number of hotels and lodges.”

Kennedy also noted that average room rates were also up.

He believes the boom can be attributed to a number of factors, and echoes the Minister’s sentiments. “The intense marketing and PR by the private sector together with Ministry, plus the impact of the new Victoria Falls International Airport and increased routes and access, have played a major role in this growth.”

The new government, under President Emmerson Mnangagwa, has been working since November to expose Zimbabwe’s tourist destinations to the international market through roadshows and investment meetings under the ‘Zimbabwe is open for business’ campaign.

Kennedy reiterated this. “A genuine desire to be ‘Open for Business’ and mend relations with our regional and international partners and nations, has led to significant new support and energy in source markets, to promote and sell Zimbabwe.”

Mupfumira said the positive numbers were encouraging and, as such, the government had ramped up marketing efforts, through campaigns in collaboration with individuals and groups, both locally and abroad. She emphasised that events like the World Football Legends Tour were all an effort to showcase Zimbabwe on a number of platforms.