ZIMBABWE is participating at this year’s edition of the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) in Dubai with a view to advertising the country’s attractions to key tourism stakeholders, buyers and international media among many others.
The ATM which will run from 28th of April to 1st of May (2019) is the most established and successful outbound and regional travel trade exhibition in the Middle East market and welcomes more than 39,000 travel professionals from the region and the world source markets at large.
The 2018 edition of ATM is said to have generated business worth about US$2.5 billion.
Zimbabwe last year appointed VFS Global as its market representative in the Middle East as a way of increasing country visibility in that market.
This resulted in the country receiving 7 798 tourist arrivals from the Arabian Market in 2018 compared to 7 537 recorded in 2017 and it is expected that the figure will continue to increase owing to this market presence and destination awareness activities.
Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) acting chief executive Rita Likukuma said participation at the ATM will go a long way in building the much-needed confidence in the destination.
“The Arabian Market gives us an opportunity to rebuild the confidence in destination Zimbabwe and establishing a strategic partnership with leading tourism operators promoting packages to Southern Africa and the continent at large,” she said.
ZTA is expecting that the expanded Victoria Falls International Airport and Joshua Mqabuko International Airport (Bulawayo) will also help in opening more access to international source markets as most airlines flying into Zimbabwe enjoy worldwide connectivity with the Dubai International Airport.
The country’s tourism authority will also take advantage of the ATM to recruit key tourism operators and media houses who will be given the opportunity to visit Zimbabwe on destination familiarisation tours.
