Zimbabwe stresses Africa Travel Indaba 2025 as impactful platform for continental unity

Zimbabwe’s Deputy Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Tongai Mafidi Mnangagwa, has praised the Africa Travel Indaba 2025 as a significantly expanded and increasingly influential event that showcases the strength and unity of African tourism.

Speaking to African Times, a partner of TV BRICS, at the Zimbabwe Tourism Stand in Durban, South Africa, Mnangagwa expressed enthusiasm about the growth of the event:

Held annually in Durban, Africa’s Travel Indaba brings together tourism stakeholders from across the continent and beyond. Mnangagwa noted a positive shift in the event’s scope.

Zimbabwe took advantage of the event to spotlight its tourism assets, from landscapes to its rich cultural heritage. According to Mnangagwa, visitor engagement at the Zimbabwean stand was high from the outset:

“Looking at the statistics and the numbers at our stand, yes, there were serious engagements from day one. Meetings and meetings, synergies between the buyers and the service providers,” he said.

This year, the country increased its participation, reflecting growing interest in Zimbabwe as a destination: “We as a country had more companies, operators, participating this year compared to last year. This time around we’re around 41, compared to 35 from last time. That shows the difference. We’ve got new players as well coming in, interested in participating in such shows.”

Mnangagwa emphasised the importance of events like Indaba for fostering long-term partnerships.

“It’s at these events where you are able to find partners and synergize a long-term relationship where there’s a constant flow of visitors into the country from the respective buyers,” he stated.

Mnangagwa also discussed Zimbabwe’s strategic focus on the Chinese tourism market – one of the world’s fastest-growing outbound travel sectors.

Through a "Look East" policy, Zimbabwe is working with Chinese-run organizations within the country to attract group tours from various provinces in China.

Mnangagwa strongly advocated for a regional approach to tourism marketing, suggesting that international travelers are more likely to visit if offered multi-country itineraries.

He proposed integrated Southern African tourism packages connecting iconic destinations like Victoria Falls, Botswana’s Okavango Delta, and South Africa’s Kruger National Park.