Upgrades for Victoria Falls airport, lodges
Major infrastructure works in Zimbabwe are supporting renewed interest in the country from international travelers.
Whilst the major work is the total upgrade of the Victoria Falls airport to handle long haul, wide body jets, the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge is progressing with a multi-million dollar extension that will add 16 rooms and four suites to the existing 72 rooms.
Ross Kennedy, the chief of the country’s major tourism operator, Africa Albida Tourism, said that the new work comes on top of recently opened lodges and camps in Hwange National Park and the Lake Kariba area.
He said that work at the Safari Lodge would be complete by August and the airport would be ready to cater for visitors flying in for the United Nations World Tourism Organisation’s general assembly in 2013.
Africa Albida has opened Ngoma Safari Lodge in the Chobe Forest Reserve in northern Botswana and developed the Santonga eco-park, which offers a six-hour interactive experience of history, wildlife, culture and entertainment.
Product director at African specialist Bench International in Sydney, Fiona Orton, said that nearly 30% of Bench customers visited Zimbabwe over the last 12 months, making it the third most popular destination in Africa.
Orton said that in more than 40 years of operation in Africa, Bench International had seen fortunes fluctuate in Zimbabwe, but “travelers are becoming aware that major tourism facilities are secure and among the best value in southern Africa”.
She added, ‘” For many years Zimbabwe was southern Africa’s second most popular destination for Australians with several Qantas and Air Zimbabwe flights flying from Sydney and Perth to Harare every week.
“Those numbers have not yet returned but we are hoping that the resurgence of interest in Zimbabwe and the sound work being done on infrastructure will see the current growth continue.”
Ian Jarrett
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