Blessed with the “Big Five” species, the world famous Victoria Falls and a host of other iconic attractions, Zimbabwe is on a drive to attract more travelers from China.

Authorities have enlisted Chinese multinational company Touchroad International Holdings Group to help them get the job done.

Touchroad International has been commissioned to film and photograph key tourist attractions and produce videos and television clips to market Zimbabwe to the Chinese customers.

This follows a 1.2-billion-US-dollar Memorandum of Understanding signed between the media house and Zimbabwe’s Tourism Ministry during President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s state visit to China in April this year.

Tourism is one of Zimbabwe’s rare success stories, which has been steadily growing over the last five years, while other sectors remained stagnant.

Tourist arrivals stood at 2.4 million in 2017, up 12 percent than 2016 – a trajectory the southern African country is hoping to maintain, particularly on the back of increased interest from China.

"The deal with Touchroad is expected to unlock investments in the Zimbabwean tourism industry and contribute meaningfully towards national economic revival, growth and development of the country," explained Zimbabwe’s Tourism and Hospitality Minister Prisca Mupfumira.

"The promotional video is a major footstep towards re-positioning the country as a tourism giant in the region," she added.

The marketing video comes at a time when Zimbabwe has relaxed its visa policies for Chinese nationals who will now be able to process their applications at ports of entry.

The new measures are a direct response to the need to boost tourist arrivals from China and to improve cultural and human capital exchanges between the two countries.

It also aimed at capitalizing on the opening of the International Airport in Victoria Falls which now has the capacity to handle long-range aircraft with bigger bodies and which has increased its passenger handling capabilities to 1.2 million people per year. 

The upgrade was funded by a loan from the Exim Bank of China, which is also extending credit for work to expand the country’s main airport terminal in Harare, which began earlier this year.

"The bigger airport facilities need to be used to their optimum capacity and that can only happen when we have more people flying in and out," said Clement Mukwasi, a Victoria Falls based tour-operator. "The Chinese market is key to these aspirations because they have the numbers in terms of population and we have the attractions, cultural and heritage sites that appeal to them. We need to market them well." 

The partnership with Touchroad is expected to yield dividends beyond increasing tourist arrivals. Zimbabwe’s government hopes it can also attract much needed investment to revamp the country’s hospitality facilities.