Ashley Mujoma
THE Ministry of Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry has declared the month of September a Tourism Month.
This aims to foster awareness on the critical role the tourism sector has in advancing the developmental agenda of the nation.
In a statement, Minister of Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Nqobizitha Mangaliso Ndhlovu said Zimbabwe joins the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) Member States in celebrating the World Tourism Day held annually on September 27.
“This day was set aside by the UNWTO to create awareness within the international community on the socio-economic benefits derived from the travel and tourism sector together with its entire value chains.
“To this end, we declared the month of September as a Tourism Month to foster awareness on the critical role the tourism sector has in advancing the developmental agenda of the nation,” he said.
The Minster said the performance of the travel and tourism sector globally has improved significantly during the period 2022 to 2023 due to the resumption of travel and tourism following the effective global measures to control the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This global trend has been observed in Zimbabwe with notable increases in tourist arrivals, receipts and investments.
“During the first half of 2023, the country registered an increase of 62 percent international tourist arrivals from 366 062 in 2022 to 591 524 in 2023.
“The substantial rise in tourist arrivals is attributed to a number of factors, chief among them the resumption of travel globally, enhanced measures to foster recovery and growth in the tourism sector and the enhanced accessibility to Zimbabwe on account of introduction of new airlines flying into the country,” he said.