The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority continues to battle funding challenges and has shelved some marketing strategies due to a lack of financial support from government.

Corporate Communications Manager, Sugar Chagonda, says the Harare International Carnival has been postponed indefinitely due to lack of resources.

This year the tourism body has bemoaned lack of Treasury support as one of the impediments to adequately marketing the destination.

“The Harare International Carnival, which was supposed to be held in October and later postponed to December, is hanging in the balance. We are still waiting for our sponsors and partners to come on board but, as it is, we do not know when it will be held,” said Chagonda.

The ZTA has also blamed the prevailing economic conditions in the country, saying they are beginning to feel constrained and “because of the tight fiscal space, the funding provided by Government in support of this event has also been limited”.

Countries that usually participate in the carnival include the UK, US, Italy, Mozambique, Indonesia, Nigeria, Egypt, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Namibia, South Africa, India, Malawi, Kenya, Brazil, Malaysia, Botswana and Swaziland.

In the first half of the year, the authority faced similar problems with hosting its annual tourism show Sanganai/Hlanganani.

Shortly before the show, government released about $450 000.