Africa specialist tips Zimbabwe for 2020 success

The destination has shot to the top of Acacia’s list of most popular east and southern African destinations for 2020, edging out Tanzania, which remains second, and Uganda, which has fallen from first to third.

Acacia said the relative political stability afforded by the end of Mugabe’s 30-year reign as president had made the country both more attractive and accessible to tourists.

“Zimbabwe has been slowly making its way back onto bucket lists, and 2020 could be its best year yet, with hotel demand at Victoria Falls reportedly up 25%,” said Acacia, citing also Hollywood A-listers’ Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones’s decision to celebrate Christmas at Victoria Falls.

Arno Delport, Acacia sales and marketing manager, added: “Still crowd-free, there’s an added incentive to visit Zimbabwe, under-tourism well on its way to becoming a major travel trend.

“The main highlights are the majestic falls, [with] the country offering what are arguably some of the best views (15 points in all); Hwange, one of the largest elephant populations in Africa residing in the national park; and the Great Zimbabwe National Monument, the ruins second only in size to the Egyptian pyramids.”