The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) is exploring the possibility of opening a tourism promotion office in the US as it continues to make strides in marketing the country as a top destination to Zimbabwe’s top-performing international tourism market.

Zimbabwe debuted at the New York Times Travel Show last week to further raise the country’s profile, with Zimbabwean Ambassador to the UN in New York, Dr. Frederick Shava, highlighting the importance of opening of a tourism promotion office.

“For Zimbabwe to tap in to this lucrative market, ZTA should re-establish an office in the US.” Shava added that tourism was a very significant contributor to the country’s GDP.

The ZTA Head of Corporate Affairs, Godfrey 'Chief' Koti, said: “We are looking forward to setting up an office and re-establishing a presence within the American market. 2020 is the year for us to go full-throttle in ensuring we are present and visible.”

Koti said the ZTA was proactively engaging with stakeholders to ensure that this became a reality. “The Visitor Exit Survey we conducted recently shows that the US is our biggest spending market with an average of US$888 per traveller.” He said marketing to this sector would be further stepped up with roadshows and educational tours.