The Sunday News
INTERNATIONAL buyers at the just-ended Sanganai/Hlanganani Tourism Expo have expressed the need for Air Zimbabwe to introduce more domestic routes to make packages for the country more attractive.
Speaking after various meetings with buyers, Air Zimbabwe public relations executive, Mrs Shingai Dhliwayo, said the buyers indicated to them that promotion of domestic connectivity was key to making the country a more attractive destination to tourists.
“The introduction of the Victoria Falls- Kariba route has made resort areas in the country more accessible and the buyers who visited our stand told us that they are interested in more domestic routes,” said Mrs Dhliwayo.
According to Mrs Dhliwayo, the national airline had meetings with buyers from United Kingdom, Germany, Canada and South Africa.
“The buyers told us of the need to also promote intra-Africa routes and how the region can benefit from air access as tourists are not interested in travelling by road,” she said.
Responding to questions on how resumption of domestic flights have improved the ease of doing business especially between Bulawayo and Harare, Mrs Dhliwayo said the national airline adapts according to demand and they have realised that time was of essence for business travel.
She said air travel is convenient not only to tourists but to business people as well.
“We recently resumed flights to Kariba and as demand increases, we will continually add frequencies. We are even offering charter services for safari weddings and conference groups and this shows the improvement in business for Air Zimbabwe,” said Mrs Dhliwayo.
Since the beginning of the year, the once struggling national airline has seen signs of growth witnessed through introduction of new routes and increased frequencies.
According to reports, the airline is at an advanced stage to service the routes to China, particularly Shanghai and Beijing.
“China is a good market and there are plans in place to re-introduce the route although at this point we cannot divulge more information. As part of preparations to penetrate the regional market, the Government is working on beefing up the fleet,” said Mrs Dhliwayo.
Air Zimbabwe used to fly to Beijing and Guangzhou but a debt crisis forced the airline to abandon all international routes in early 2012.
Africa Travel Troll buyer Mr Gordon Triegaardt from South Africa said he was surprised at the amount of products available in Zimbabwe and that the expo had so many suppliers.
He commended Air Zimbabwe for the domestic routes as it makes destinations more accessible.
“Travelling by road in Zimbabwe is quite problematic because of the amount of roadblocks on your roads and this can deter tourists but with the resumption of flights to Kariba and the Victoria Falls-Kariba route, we are happy,” he said.
This year’s edition of Sanganai/Hlanganani was the first that Mr Triegaardt attended in the country.
