Tourist Arrivals by National Park

49 Pages·2016·3.36 MB·English

CONTENTS PAGE
DEFINITIONS 3
GLOBAL ECONOMIC OVERVIEW 4 - 5
GLOBAL TOURISM OVERVIEW 6 - 8
NATIONAL ECONOMIC OVERVIEW 9
OVERVIEW OF TOURISM PERFORMANCE IN ZIMBABWE 10 - 13
TOURISM ECONOMIC INDICATORS (SUMMARY) 14 - 16
ANALYSIS OF FOREIGN TOURIST ARRIVALS 17 - 24
Foreign Tourist Arrivals Trend: 1964 – 2015 18
Tourist Arrivals from Overseas: 2015/2014 19 - 20
Tourist Arrivals from Mainland Africa: 2015/2014 20 - 21
Tourist Arrivals Market Share by Region: 2015/2014 22
ANALYSIS OF TOURIST ARRIVALS BY SOURCE MARKET: 2015/2014 23 - 28
Top 10 Overseas Markets 29
Top 10 African Markets 30
PROFILE OF FOREIGN TOURISTS: 2015/2014 31 - 34
Purpose of Visit 32
Mode of Transport 33 - 34
AIRLINE STATISTICS 35 – 37
Annual Market Share by Airline (table) 36
Annual Market Share by Airline (graph) 37
ACCOMMODATION UTILIZATION STATISTICS: 2015/2014 38
Annual Average Room Occupancies in major Regions 39
Average Room Occupancy Rates by Region (table) 40
Average Bed Occupancy Rates by Region (table) 41
Average Room Occupancies by Region (graph) 42
Average Bed Occupancies by Region (graph ) 42
Room & Bed Capacity by Region (table) 43
Room & Bed Capacity Shares by Region (graph) 43
TOURISM REVENUE 44 – 45
Tourism Receipts Trend: 2006 – 2015 (graph) 45
NATIONAL PARKS & WILDLIFE STATISTICS - 2015 46 - 48
Tourist Arrivals by National Park 47
Clientele Composition – Top 10 National Parks 48
Arrivals Market Share – Top 10 National Parks 48
CONCLUSION 49
For reasons of comparability and consistency the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority uses International
definitions as given by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). Some of the
definitions used are:
Tourist: A tourist is a traveler who takes an overnight trip outside his/her usual environment, for less
than a year, for any main purpose (business, leisure or other personal purpose) other than to be employed
by a resident entity in the country or place visited.

Same–day Visitor: A visitor who does not spend a night in a collective or private accommodation in the
country visited.

Arrivals: All data refer to arrivals and not actual number of people traveling. One person visiting the
same country several times during the year is counted each time as a new arrival. Likewise
the same person visiting several countries during the same trip is counted each time as a new
arrival.

ABBREVIATIONS & ACRONYMS USED

AfDB - Africa Development Bank
GDP – Gross Domestic Product
ICASA - International Conference on AIDS and STI’s In Africa
IMF – International Monetary Fund
IRTS 08 - International Recommendations for Tourism Statistics 2008.
ITU - International Telecommunications Union.
MW – Mega Watt.
OPEC - Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
UAE – United Arab Emirates
UNWTO – United Nations World Tourism Organization.
USA – United States of America.
ZTA – Zimbabwe Tourism Authority

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Global Economic Overview

The Global economic growth, which was estimated at 3.1 percent in

2015, is projected at 3.4 percent in 2016 and 3.6 percent in 2017
according to the IMF Global Outlook. This is a positive prospect
considering that tourism thrives in a stable and growing economy.
This means the performance of global tourism is likely to be
sustained as forecasted by the UNWTO’s vision 2020.

Three Key Transitions That Continue To Influence the Global
Economy

1. The Slowdown in Chinese Economy
According to IMF Global Outlook, China has been experiencing a faster-than-expected slowdown in
imports and exports, in part reflecting weaker investment and manufacturing activity in that economy.
These developments, together with market concerns about the future
performance of the Chinese economy, will continue to have
spillovers to other economies through trade channels and weaker
commodity prices, as well as through weakening confidence and
increasing volatility in financial markets. Manufacturing activity
and trade also remain weak globally, reflecting not only
developments in China but also the subdued global demand and investment.

2. Lower prices for energy and other commodities
Oil prices have declined markedly since September 2015, reflecting expectations of sustained increases
in production by Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC) members, amid continued global oil
production in excess of oil consumption. This is especially so
following the lifting of sanctions on Iran. Oil prices continued
to fall in 2016 with the oil prices hitting the US$28 per barrel
from an average of US$35 in 2015. As a result of the fall in
oil prices, other commodities, especially metals, have fallen as well.
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The Gradual Tightening In U.S. Monetary Policy and the Appreciation of the Dollar
The prospects of a gradual increase in policy and interest rates in the United States as well as bouts of
financial volatility amid concerns about emerging market
growth prospects, have contributed to tighter external
financial conditions, declining capital flows, and further
currency depreciations in many emerging market
economies.
The US economy is anticipated to continue growing in
2016 after it unexpectedly expanded at a faster pace in the
fourth quarter than initially estimated. As such, the greenback is also expected to continue appreciating
in 2016. This further appreciation of the dollar will put additional pressures on firms in emerging market
economies. (Source: IMF Global Outlook)
The appreciation of the dollar and the growth of the American economy will prospectively trigger
increased travel propensity of that market increasing global outbound travel. Considering that USA is
currently Zimbabwe’s largest overseas market, the increased American outbound could translate into
more overseas arrivals into Zimbabwe.

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Global Tourism Overview

International Tourist Arrivals
International tourist arrivals grew by 4.4% in 2015 to reach a total of 1,184 million in 2015,
according to the January 2016 Edition of the UNWTO’s World Tourism Barometer. According
to this report the year 2015 marks the 6th consecutive year of above-average growth, with Growth:

international arrivals increasing by 4% or more every year since the post-crisis year of 2010. 4.4%

Total
By region, Europe, the Americas and Asia and the Pacific all recorded around 5% growth in
Arrivals:
2015. Arrivals to the Middle East increased by 3% while in Africa, limited data available, 1.184
Billion
points to an estimated 3% decrease, mostly due to weak results in North Africa, which
accounts for over one third of arrivals in the region. The continued effects of the Ebola
epidemic during the year also aided in the decline to a great extent.
The strongest growth in
2015 was registered by
Europe, the Americas and
Asia & the Pacific at 5%
Arrivals into Africa declined
by 3%.

International Tourism Indicators
Source: UNWTO
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Global Developments Affecting Tourism
Zika Outbreak
The Zika virus is changing Americans’ travel
plans, with 4 in 10 people saying they are now less
likely to visit South America or the Caribbean
according to the Reuters/Ipsos survey. The survey
found that the more people learn about Zika, the
more they fear the mosquito-borne virus, which
doctors warned may be linked to the current spate
of birth defects in Brazil. The Zika outbreak is
therefore likely to shift tourist preferences to other
parts of the world other than South America. However, given the widespread belief that
mosquitoes are the principal transmitters of the virus, tourists are likely to shun known
mosquito infested areas, such as Southern Africa, including Zimbabwe
Growing Trends Of Terrorism
Global tourism arrivals continue to
soar despite the increase in terrorist
activities. For instance arrivals to the
Middle East grew by 5% in 2015 in
spite of the conflicts going on
especially in Syria, Turkey and Iraq
due to ISIS.
The number of terrorism-related
deaths worldwide increased dramatically between 2013 and 2014, and 2015 was marked by
two shocking terror attacks in Paris. First it was the Charlie Hebdo shooting in January 2015
then the Paris attack of November 2015. Ironically despite all this, France remained the number
one tourist destination in the world in 2015 receiving 83 million foreign tourists.
Tourism Facilitation in Africa - Visa
According to the Africa Visa Openness Report published by the Africa Development Bank
(ADB), Southern Africa lags behind in the visa openness index. According to the same report
75% of countries in the top 20 most visa-open countries are in West Africa and East Africa.
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In southern Africa only four destinations, namely Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique and
Zambia managed to make it into the top 20 most visa-open countries list.
In terms of e-visas only 9% of the African nations have an e-visa in place and these include
Zimbabwe. In spite of this strength Zimbabwe ranks 27 out of 52 countries ranked in Africa.
This goes to show that although efforts are being wielded in easing visa requirements for the
country, a lot still need to be done. For instance, while the top 15 visa-open destinations require
no visa in advance (except Mauritius and Djibouti), Zimbabwe requires 67% of the tourism
markets in the world to apply for a visa in advance.
.
The Top 20 Most Visa-Open Countries

Source: Africa Visa Openness Report 2016 (AfDB)
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National Economic Overview
.

Overall economic performance in 2015 registered a 1.5%

growth, remaining depressed during the period under Growth:

revie. w . Positive developments were recorded in 1.5%
construction and communication, with some setbacks in

tourism, agriculture and Mining according to the Ministry

of Finance.

Sectorial Growth (%)

Note: Whilst part of tourism is included in hotels and restaurants some components are included in other sectors e.g. tour
operators in transport, trophy processing in manufacturing while hunting and fishing is under agriculture. Hence the need for a
TSA to enable proper accounting of tourism’s contribution to the main economy.

Inflation
The annual inflation rate closed at -2.47% in December 2015. The unrelenting deflation continues to pose a
threat to the economy and the tourism sector in particular, as it limits expenditure. Although the deflation
may indicate a drop in consumer prices, domestic tourism has remained restrained as a result of low
disposable incomes.

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Overview Performance of Tourism in Zimbabwe

Tourist Arrivals

Tourist arrivals increased by 9% to 2 056 588 during

year 2015, compared to 1 880 028 in 2014 with all

markets performing positively except for Asia and the Arrival Growth:

9%
Middle East which declined. The growth in arrivals into

Zimbabwe was generally backed by growth in the

country’s traditional overseas source markets such as Total Arrivals:
1 880 028
UK and USA and compounded with the positive

performance of Mainland Africa.

Performance by Global Regions

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