Zimbabwean trade exhibiting at this year’s ITB tradeshow received a positive response from the German trade and are expecting to see an increase in arrivals from this market. This follows last year’s absence from the show.

Sabine Gebele of Zimbabwe Travel Info, who markets Zimbabwean product, says destination Zimbabwe has come a long way in the market. “When I started exhibiting at ITB in 2009, most people just walked past and didn’t take the time,” she said. “If they sat and talked to you it was usually out of pity.” However, she said now, buyers were interested.

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Likewise, Lindi Mthethwa, Regional Manager: Sales and Reservations at African Sun, said there had been a very positive response from the German trade and that she had a number of meetings with high-quality buyers. “It’s been great meeting new agents who are interested in Victoria Falls, who were previously booking Zambia,” she said, adding that these agents had had pick-up from their clients requesting Victoria Falls. “That’s already a step in the right direction, and we can only expect the numbers from the German market to grow.”

Mthethwa added that Germany was a key market. “What’s good about the market is that it’s not just accommodation: they want to experience the destination.” She explained that the German market tended to spend three night in Victoria Falls, as opposed to two, and also spent more on food and beverage while in the destination.

According to Gebele, the biggest challenge to selling Zimbabwe in the German market is the lack of information on the destination, particularly in German. For example, she said there was only one guide book in German that was current. She added that there was also a lack of positive information, while the news about the destination covered in the press tended to be negative.

Airlift and the exchange rate were also challenges to selling Zimbabwe, said Mthethwa, adding that it was a long-haul destination, making flights pricey. She also pointed out that because of the exchange rate, agents selling South Africa who wanted to add on a Victoria Falls leg, needed to add about 25% to their package price.

Tourism Update attended ITB in Berlin, Germany, as a guest of South African Tourism.