Air Zimbabwe to have Chinese partnerships?
Air Zimbabwe is perhaps negotiating with two Chinese airlines for a partnership.
The managing director of Zimbabwe International Travel Tours, Steve Zhao, told a workshop this was part of China’s drive to create more economic partnerships with Zimbabwe.
He said he hoped that the negotiations would be fruitful to enable the two airlines to work together to bring more Chinese tourists into the country.
In an interview on the sidelines of the workshop, Air Zimbabwe chief executive Patrick Chikumba could however, not divulge much about the deal.
He said, ‘As Air Zimbabwe we are working with various airlines to see which areas we can co-operate but at the moment I cannot say which ones. We are working with airlines from the Western countries and even those from China.’
Worth noting that every European airline has now stopped flying to Zimbabwe although a handful of flights still come in from some Aftican countries.
He said the airline was seeking the partnerships to improve its efficiency.
While Zimbabwe has attractive tourist destinations, he said little was being done to ensure that appropriate conditions that suit Asian people are available in the country.
He said, ‘Right now we have few people who can speak Chinese in the country. While a Chinese is comfortable with a western dish for a day, I tell you that they cannot stand that for a week. Most hotels in the country are not offering Chinese dishes and this is affecting the visitors.’
Somehow, none of it seems likely.
Source: Zimbabwe Chronicle