Zimbabwe seeks tourism revival with fair

HARARE - Zimbabwe opened an international tourism fair on Thursday to try to generate cash as it battles a severe economic crisis.

Zimbabwe is gripped by the world's highest inflation rate, officially running at about 6,600 percent, and chronic food, fuel and foreign currency shortages.

Annual income from tourism, which stood at a record $360 million at its peak in 1998, plunged to $27 million between January and August this year and its once booming resorts have been largely abandoned.

But Zimbabwe's troubles have not stopped tourism officials from going on the offensive, offering visitors sites such as Victoria Falls, one of the world's natural wonders and the country's top attraction.

"We have been battered by negative publicity but we are still standing ... we have been resilient in the face of criticism," said Shingi Munyeza, who chairs the state-sponsored Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, which organised the event.

On Thursday, the country launched the international fair in Harare, which attracted about 700 tourism promoters.

Zimbabwe wants to start reversing the slump and lure some of the 450,000 visitors expected to attend the 2010 soccer World Cup in neighbouring South Africa.

"There is an element of curiosity in the market, people want to see what the Zimbabwean industry has in store for them. Our tourism is on the recovery path," said Munyeza.

President Robert Mugabe has accused Western media of peddling lies to scare away foreign investors as part of a drive by his Western foes to punish him for seizing white-owned farms for redistribution to poor blacks.

Zimbabwe is home to some of Africa's largest game reserves but conservation activists say some of the animals are at risk from cross-border trophy hunters and rampant poaching by people struggling with hunger and rising poverty.

The Zimbabwe Conservation Trust animal welfare group said in July that the farm seizures had triggered an estimated 83 percent slump in wildlife on private farms and conservancies.

Vice President Joyce Mujuru said tourism was one of the sectors targeted to anchor economic recovery and urged foreign tourists to help market Zimbabwe as the fair opened.

"We want you to enjoy the peace and tranquillity we offer ... and be the true ambassadors of the real Zimbabwe," Mujuru said.