Statistics from Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority reveal that about 106,000 foreigners out of 200,000 tourists visited the Victoria Falls rain forest.
Compared to 2011 where there were 146 203 people who went to the Victoria Falls rain forest it was a sharp increase in tourist arrivals.
“In 2009, 116 223 tourists visited the Rainforest, the figure which increased to 141 113 in 2010 and 146 203 in 2011,” reads the statement.
December was a busy month with 22 521 tourist visitors to the Rainforest.
“Of these, 11 413 were locals and 11 108 were foreigners,” the organization added.
The spokeswoman for National Parks Caroline Washaya Moyo added that there was also a marked increase in other tourist attractions countrywide because of aggressive marketing carried out-which has resulted in changing international perceptions about Zimbabwe.
There was also an increase in traffic between South Africa and Zimbabwe through the Beitbridge border.
Figure released by the immigration department states that 524 511 people went through the border at its peak between 14 December and 7 January.
Charles Gwede the Assistant regional immigration manager told the press 229 000 people left Zimbabwe for South Africa during the same period which is 10 percent more than those that left Zimbabwe during the same period in 2011.
The busiest day at the border was on 23 December when 43 000 people came into Zimbabwe.
This past festive season saw a 25 percent increase in Zimbabweans who returned home from South Africa for the holidays.
This according to Gwede is attributed to the fact that some Zimbabweans have regularized their stay in South Africa hence the high use of the regular channels of migration.
Post published in: News