Zim sees 10% drop in arrivals

ZIMBABWE'S overseas arrivals were down 10% for the first quarter of 2006, with arrivals from traditional source markets such as Europe dropping by 29%. Despite this, total tourist arrivals were up by 2%, but 407 950 of the 495 976 arrivals were from Africa. Asian arrivals grew by 49%, increasing from 7 577 to 11 300 in the first quarter. Tourism revenue declined from $30,5m (R219m) down to $21,2m (R152m). The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) attributes this decline to the different spending habits of the country’s new source markets compared with the traditional markets. Sue Lewitton (suel@nowmedia.co.za)