The Sunday Mail
ZIMBABWE has been named among the finest tourism destinations for 2015 due to the prevailing political and economic stability as well as world class tourist attractions dotted around the country.
The New York Times’ annual ‘52 Places to Go in 2015’ survey, placed Zimbabwe as the 14th most attractive tourist destination in the world. The country is one of the three African destinations on the list.
Zimbabwe falls behind Durban, South Africa, placed at seven while Tanzania trails at 17th.
The survey ranked Zimbabwe higher than celebrated tourist havens such as New York, Manchester, Seoul, Quebec City, Miami Beach in Florida, Shanghai and Rome.
Italy tops the list with over 20 million people expected to visit Milan this year for the 2015 World Expo running from May to October.
In its citation on Zimbabwe titled ‘Once-avoided, now must-visit’, the New York post said the abundance of game will be a major draw card for foreign visitors.
“This country’s beauty and bounty have been overshadowed by political unrest and economic collapse over the last few decades, but today, the Government is finally stable, the overinflated Zimbabwean dollar is gone, and the prices are low.
“An international terminal at Victoria Falls Airport set to open in July will make it far easier to get to, and new trips from outfitters like Red Savannah and Cox and Kings give travellers a way to explore the many riches: There’s the spectacular Victoria Falls, the Zambezi, Unesco World Heritage sites like the granite land form Matobo Hills and the colonial charm of cities like Harare.
“The biggest draw, however, might be the abundance of game, including hippos and lions, on full view on water safaris,” it reads in part.
The list is drawn by dozens of the paper’s contributing writers, many of whom are based overseas. It is then whittled down to the best 52 by a panel of editors and travel experts.
“We aim for a selection of places that we expect to be particularly compelling in the coming year; reasons might include a museum opening, a new transportation option or a historical anniversary.”
The New York survey results come at a time when the country successfully co-hosted the UNWTO General Assembly in Victoria Falls over a year ago.
Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Engineer Walter Mzembi welcomed the survey rankings.
“Our marketing efforts are beginning to pay off. This ranking, coming after we co-hosted the UNWTO General Assembly is basically an endorsement of brand Zimbabwe.
“The event brought our brand into contact with 144 countries and the delegates experienced Zimbabwe, including members of the fourth estate who in the past had disengaged with our brand.
“Above all Zimbabwe is back in the international family of nations commanding its rightful place of distinguished honour and I hope going forward we will be able to leverage with this ranking to achieve our Five; Five; Fifteen; 2020,” he said.
The Five; Five; Fifteen; 2020 is the ministry’s strategy to ensure the country receives five million visitors, contributes not less than US$5 billion in foreign currency receipts while contributing at least 15 percent to the Gross Domestic Product by 2020.
