Harare – International tourist arrivals to Zimbabwe reached 2,579,974 in 2018 which is a 6 percent growth compared to the 2 422 930 received in 2017 driven by the growth in arrivals from all source regions and most major markets with the exception of the Americas, figures from the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority show.
Arrivals from Africa in 2018 reached 2 064 534, a 6 percent growth from 1 948 509 arrivals in 2017. From America arrivals decreased by 1 percent to close at 120 313 compared to 121 043 in 2017. Asia brought in 112 694 tourists to the country which is a 23 percent increase when compared to 91 435 arrivals in the prior year.
Arrivals from Europe increased by 6 percent to reach 232 233 from 218 140. From the Middle East arrivals to Zimbabwe reached 7 798 from 7 537 which is a 3 percent increase. Oceania brought in 42 402 tourists in the country compared to 36 2666 in 2017 which is a 17 percent increase, giving a grant total of 2 579 974 tourist arrivals in 2018 compared to 2 422 930 arrivals in 2017.
According to the figures from ZTA there was a steady growth trend for the overseas market from 2012 until 2016. In 2012, 231 608 tourists arrived in the country and in 2013 they increased to 261 771. 2014 had 279 532 arrivals, 2015 had 295 898 arrivals and in 2016 the country recorded 318 751 arrivals.
At from 2017 ZTA pointed that there has been a sharp increase been a sharp increase in tourist arrivals from overseas markets. Arrivals jumped 49 percent from 474 421 to in 2017 to 515 440 in 2018.
Although the 2018 tourist arrival figure for USA fell by 6 percent to close at 95,025 compared to 101 206 in 2017 it still remains the biggest overseas market followed closely by the United Kingdom which had 72 029 arrivals in 2018 compared to 73 552 arrivals in 2017.
A notable mover was South Korea which moved from 8th position to 4th position displacing traditional markets like France and the Benelux. Arrivals from South Korea reached 33 759 in 2018 from 20 074 in 2017.
This positive performance according to ZTA consolidates the position of the tourism sector as a key driver in the economic growth of Zimbabwe and the current strong momentum is expected to continue in 2019.
According to the January 2019 issue of the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, International tourist arrivals grew by 6 percent in 2018 to reach a total of 1.4 billion from the 1.3billion in 2017.
UNWTO’s long term forecast issued in 2010 indicated the 1.4 billion mark will be reached in 2020, yet the remarkable growth of international arrivals in recent years has brought it two years ahead.
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