Zimbabwe has launched a campaign to attract tourists from China and other Asian countries, planning promotional tours in Asia and training courses in language and even Chinese cooking here.
Zimbabwe's tourism industry, once a major source of hard currency earnings, is shrinking as travelers from Australia and Europe, in particular from former colonial ruler Britain, are staying away from the country.
As part of the shift to the east, Tourism Minister Francis Nhema traveled to China over the weekend to sign an agreement with Beijing granting Zimbabwe approved destination status which the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) says should "open the floodgates for Chinese visitors."
"China is recognized to be growing very fast both in terms of it generating tourist traffic and in terms of its being a destination," said ZTA spokesman Givemore Chidzidzi.
"There is a realization that it is a vast country with a huge population. Tourism there is well structured, they travel in groups, they don't just travel anywhere, they travel to those destinations that have been approved," he said.
Promotional shows are due to take place later this year in China, Hong Kong and Malaysia, among other Asian countries and tourism attaches have been appointed to embassies in the region.
Zimbabwe is also introducing language training programs so that it can welcome the influx of Chinese visitors with Mandarin speakers.
"There is no way you can satisfy your customer if you cannot speak their language," Chidzidzi said.
"These people don't speak English and we don't expect them to speak English, but they still want to come here. Now it's for us to satisfy our customer.
"We are working on ways to make sure that our industry, and our frontline staff in general, are ready for that," he said.
Training in Chinese cuisine is also on the cards.
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