Fastjet supports tourism growth in Zimbabwe

LOW-COST airline, Fastjet Zimbabwe has said the new routes and services it has constantly added to its package of services have significantly contributed to the country’s tourism industry growth.

Fastjet recently launched a morning flight between Bulawayo and Johannesburg, in addition to the Harare-Kariba-Hwange routes also recently introduced.

The airline has, therefore, helped link major tourism and business destinations locally and in the region, introducing a rate one-day trip that allows people to travel and return on the same day after doing business.

In an interview in Victoria Falls, Fastjet spokesperson Mr Nunurai Ndawana said all developments by the airline are aimed at contributing to tourism.

He was speaking after attending the Communication, Media and Tourism Training in Africa Workshop conducted by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation recently in Victoria Falls.

“As Fastjet, we continue to be committed to the Zimbabwean market and over the past few months we have invested in Kariba and Hwange markets, and recently in Bulawayo, we added a daily delight service. We introduced new flights from Harare to Kariba and Hwange connecting these new domestic destinations to Harare and Victoria Falls. This has gone a long way in promoting tourism in that market.

“Right now tourists from Victoria Falls can fly to Hwange and proceed up to Kariba and the same in Harare to Kariba and Hwange. This has contributed a lot to tourism and as we are moving into the festive season, we have put in a number of flights as part of our schedule to ensure that when people travel for their holidays at the end of the year they have options to explore Zimbabwe,” said Mr Ndawana.

He said the volumes are encouraging and what the airline has started doing is to ensure that based on the demand, it provides adequate options so that people will have a choice to take up when they travel.

Within Zimbabwean, Fastjet services ply five domestic routes which are Harare, Bulawayo, Victoria Falls, Kariba, and Hwange, and the routes are designed to support commerce, trade, and leisure travel.

Regionally there are flights to Johannesburg and Kruger National Park with Johannesburg linked with three destinations Harare, Bulawayo, and Victoria Falls.

“Recently in Bulawayo, we added a morning flight which is available daily on Mondays to Fridays between Bulawayo and Johannesburg providing the market with the needed flexibility, choice, and value. For the first time in a long time, we now have the option of a day trip that supports leisure and business where someone can wake up in the morning go and have business, and come back home on the same day. This is part of our effort to ensure that we support tourism in Zimbabwe and beyond,” he said.-chronicle