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Panashe Chikonyora Business Reporter
AFRICA’s largest online market place for safari holidays on the African continent, SafariBookings, has named Zimbabwe among the continent’s finest safari destinations for the year 2019.

Zimbabwe was awarded a rating of 4,38 out of 5 rating, placing it at number 4 among a list of 12 African countries with the best jaw-dropping safari adventures.

The country is endowed with world famous attractions such as the majestic Victoria Falls, the mystique Nyanga as well as a variety of wildlife species found in a few places world wide.

Despite Africa having several countries endowed with various safari adventures and attractions, Zimbabwe fourth out of more than 4 000 reviews that were analysed by Safari Bookings.

In terms of rankings, Botswana retained the number one slot with a 4,61 rating, followed by Tanzania at 4,55 and Zambia with 4,46 points then Zimbabwe was number four with 4,39 points.

Other that were rated include Kenya, South Africa, Namibia, Uganda, Rwanda, Swaziland, Mozambique and Malawi which came in that order.

Safari Bookings said, “A study in alternating landscapes, from the stark, arid beauty of the Kalahari Desert with its bellowing black-maned lions to the Okavango Delta, famed for its shimmering, winding waterways and profusion of elephants – on average had the highest scores, though Tanzania was not far behind.

“A closer analysis of the results throws up a surprise: when broken down the results tell us that the industry experts rated Botswana the highest, but that there was a preference for Zimbabwe amongst safari-goers.”

The safari industry is expected to generate at least US$7 billion annually by 2030, which seems quite promising if planned programme to stimulate the industry are implemented.

Tourism promotion body, Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) recently participated at the Incentive Business Travel and Meetings (IBTM) World Exhibition to promote the country as a Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) destination extending the country’s potential in harnessing safari returns .

The developments follow Government’s extended incentives to support the tourism industry to reach its full potential.
Tourism is one of the fastest growing industries in the world and many countries rely on it.

The sector’s strategic importance stems from the fact that the tourism sector has some form of resilience to challenges that may affect other economic sectors.

The industry’s earnings reached US$1 billion last year.