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The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) would continue targeting the Middle East in its tourism marketing drive as the market has the potential to raise revenue levels for the sector, state media reported on Sunday.

 

The state news agency New Ziana quoted the authority's chief executive Karikoga Kaseke as saying that they had made inroads into the market which would likely result in increased numbers.

 

Tourists from the Middle East, especially those from the United Arab Emirates, are well known high spenders who travel in low numbers.

 

Kaseke said the Authority's strategy to capture a share of that market was being guided by the principle of low volume, high value.

 

"Even if we have low numbers in terms of visitors and manage to raise our target earnings, we are happy. Tourism at the end of the day is about earning foreign currency and not necessarily the number of tourists who visit," he said.

 

He said as a result of the Authority's initiatives, a number of buyers from the Middle East also attended the International Travel Expo held in the capital last month.

 

Meanwhile, Kaseke said the tourism sector was confident of realizing its set target of US$300 million this year, taking into consideration increased activity in the sector.

 

Next year, the sector would be looking at raising at least US$500 million with the ultimate objective of increasing earnings to US$2 billion annually by 2010.

 

With rekindled interest in the country's tourism, the tourism sector hopes to contribute meaningfully and increase contributions to the gross domestic product.

 

In the first three quarters of the year, tourist arrivals increased by about 45 percent, a sure sign that the marketing initiatives by various players in the tourism sector are bearing fruit.

 

International media criticism of the government's land reform programs and designation of the country as an unsafe tourist destination had negatively impacted on tourist arrivals in the last five years.

 

The government is focusing its attention on tourism because of its quick turnaround potential and strategic role in economic revival

 

The tourism industry contributes six percent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 10 percent of the country's total foreign currency earnings.

 

At its peak in 1998, tourism accounted for eight percent of gross domestic product, 12. 5 percent of formal employment and about 11 percent of foreign exchange earnings.

 

(Xinhua News Agency November 6, 2006)