The number of foreign tourists visiting Zimbabwe dropped by 36% in the first half of this year compared to the same time in 2003, the country’s tourism promotion body said on Thursday.
The figures by the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) said the number of visitors dropped from 1,3-million in the first six months of last year to 827 245 this year.
Zimbabwe has launched a campaign to attract tourists from China and other Asian countries after arrivals from its traditional European and other Western markets slumped in recent years due to the political upheaval in the southern African country.
The figures, released to the Ziana news agency, said most tourists came from South Africa, with some 255 975 visitors, followed by Mozambique with 186 759.
Most overseas visitors came from the United States, said the ZTA, with around 23 300 or 15% of the total figure.
There were 13 892 visitors from Britain, representing 13%, while China, which Zimbabwe had been eyeing, was placed third with 11 584 or seven percent of tourists.
The number of arrivals from China represented a 245% increase over the same period last year.
At its peak in the 1990s, tourism — notably to the spectacular northwestern Victoria Falls and the game reserves — brought in about 12,5% of Zimbabwe’s gross domestic product (GDP) and employed 4,5% of the labour force.
But tourists have been staying away from Zimbabwe since an economic and political crisis began four years ago.
The government blames the slump in tourism on negative reporting by international media, tarnishing Zimbabwe’s image. – Sapa-AFP