Zimbabwe recorded significant tourism increase in 2015

A 9 per cent increase in tourist arrivals was registered for 2015, as Zimbabwe's tourism industry starts recovering and welcome more American visitors

Zimbabwe Tourism Authority chief executive Karikoga Kaseke highlighted official tourism figures during the 2016 Tourism Convention at Victoria Falls.

According to his presentation last week, 15 per cent of the tourists that visited Zimbabwe in 2015 were Americans.

Nevertheless, Kaseke noted that improvements are further welcomed to boost the country's tourism sector, as trained professionals and an efficient tourism strategy are a must for the country's goal to enter the major markets. He explained that:

"Zimbabwe has become a very expensive destination vis-a-vis our competitors in the region. [There is] very poor service in the tourism industry [and] personnel lacks passion in serving customers, a major key to success in tourism business.

"[There is] lack of adequate and quality transport services [local, regional and international], and also an absence of a strong national airline, poor facilitation at ports, particularly Beitbridge, and also poor access to attractions -- dysfunctional feeder roads."

According to Kaseke's forecast, 3.5 million arrivals are expected to be registered by 2020, as well as more than $3 billion in tourism revenue. If the prediction is correct, the figures will further generate a 15 per cent of the country's GDP contribution and 170.000 more jobs in the tourism sector.