A group of 10 travel agencies from Tanzania are in Zimbabwe on a mission to sample what the country has on offer in terms of tourism products.
The group which came courtesy of a partnership between Zimbabwe Tourism Authority and Air Tanzania is expected to spend about five nights in the country and will visit such areas as Hwange and Victoria Falls.
In an interview at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport Gumbo Mhandeni who is managing director of Hakuna Matata Consulting Agency said they are happy to be Zimbabwe and are looking forward to seeing the Victoria Falls.
“We are here as a Tanzanian group representing other people from the industry, we have people from the airlines, people from tourism trade so we are expecting to see much of what Zimbabwe has to offer when it comes to product. We are here to learn and forge new partnerships with an emerging partnership with the airline which is our own flagship carrier Air Tanzania which call the Wings of Kilimanjaro,” he said.
Mhandeni added that “we do believe we are going to bring more traffic with intra and inter travel as well as combination packages as our tour operators will be able to sell Zimbabwe as a one-stop destination with Tanzania.
“We are also looking forward to bring the local because we do believe if we can partner very well with Zimbabwe tourism authority and other actors we are going to have much when it comes to travel.
“So we are looking forward to this partnership and to establish good relationship we have a good diplomatic relationship with you guys so we are hoping for the best,” added Mhandeni.
The Tanzanians said there is a lot to see and experience when it comes to tourism in Zimbabwe and that they are looking forward to see the majestic Victoria Falls which they say is a magnificent tourism product.
Besides the Victoria Falls, the agencies are also looking forward to bungee jumping, lion-walking, fly-foxing and the Zipline
Air Tanzania marketing executive Jerry Ngewe who is in Zimbabwe for the first time said he was exciting about the opportunity as he gets to see the country’s famed tourism products some of the which have resulted in the several international awards.
“I am very happy today,” he said “it’s my first time to be in Harare and I am looking forward to travelling around Zimbabwe and see the tourist attractions.
“As you all know we started our flights to Harare about a month ago and we are excited because if you look at our countries we have history and it goes back to the time of Mugabe and Nyerere so it’s great to be here and we are going to enjoy our time here,” he said.
Air Tanzania introduced flights into Zimbabwe earlier this year and the coming of the 10 travel agencies are the fruits of the airline’s return to Zimbabwe.
