from DANIEL JONES in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe Bureau
VICTORIA FALLS, (CAJ News) – ZIMBABWE is making the most of the Expo 2020 in Dubai to drum up support especially on the political and economic fronts.
The strategy aims to enable the country score big on the tourism front after years of negative publicity impacted badly on the sector and the coronavirus outbreak exacerbated matters.
A big Zimbabwean delegation, led by President Emmerson Mnangagwa, is in the United Arab Emirates’ international hub, Dubai, where several activities are also taking place to foster bilateral relations between the two countries.
The Expo 2020 started on October 1 in 2020 and concludes on March 31.
It was originally scheduled for 20 October 2020 to 10 April 2021 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reason Machigere, Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) Executive Director, said the Southern African nation was teeming with investment opportunities.
“There are colleagues who have shown interest and there are discussions that are going on,” he said.
“There is growing interest and they are clamouring for investment on different geographical locations.”
Among these destinations are the main attraction, Victoria Falls, as well as the capital, Harare, Kanyemba and Tokwe Mukosi.
Recently, Zimbabwe hosted a Media Day at the Expo 2020.
Various activities including art, cultural dances and music were showcased.
Farai Chimba, said the expo is a learning curve and opportunity to market destination Zimbabwe.
“The Dubai Expo has been an interesting experience. We look forward to seeing more investments and tourists coming from international markets as some big brands have shown interest in the destination,” said Chimba.
The tourism industry expects the bilateral relations between Zimbabwe and UAE to transform into tourism opportunities.
Investors from UAE once visited Victoria Falls three years ago after showing interest in constructing a theme park in the resort city.
The national airline, Air Zimbabwe, is already angling on flying to Dubai.
Mnangagwa who attended and addressed the Zimbabwe National Day event at the expo, is pushing his re-engagement agenda, which also involves attracting investors and visitors to the country.
– CAJ News