Zimbabwe tourism hit hard, coming and going

20 January 2019 - 00:00 By NJABULO NCUBE

Violence during this week's three-day stayaway has inflicted immense damage on tourism, say industry leaders.
The unrest sparked warnings to US and UK citizens to avoid Zimbabwe. Clement Mukwasi, president of the Employers Association for Tourism and Safari Operators, said: "Brand Zimbabwe is in trouble due to the incidents of the past few days."
The fuel shortage and internet shutdown compounded the situation, he said.
"Transport has not been moving. Garages are closed, meaning our game drives were affected. The internet shutdown has had a devastating impact as we depend on the internet for bookings and payment."
Givemore Chidzidzi, acting CEO at the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, said he was not aware of any cancellations, but "we would have loved to have a calm situation".
Fastjet Zimbabwe cancelled eight scheduled domestic and regional flights on Monday when the violence broke out. Greyhound only resumed trips on Thursday.
On Friday, two South African journalists were deported...

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