Paul Nyakazeya, Group Digital Editor 
There are 181 Zimbabwean nationals employed by Emirates, including nine pilots and 31 cabin crew.
EMIRATES says it has seen growth in the number of business travellers to Zimbabwe, following renewed interest in the country.
Zimbabwe, currently grappling a hangover from decades of recession, bounced back on the map following leadership change last November, with the new administration emphasising that the country is “is open for business”.
Al Falasi, Emirates’ commercial manager, last week said “we have seen growth in the number of business travellers who want to explore opportunities in Zimbabwe”.
“In-bound tourism arrivals on Emirates are supporting Zimbabwe’s drive to boost the tourism sector,” he said.
He said Emirates has seen an increase of more than six percent in the number of passengers travelling to and from Harare in the financial year to December 31 2017.
“The carrier, which flies daily from Harare to Dubai and Lusaka, carried 337 512 passengers on the route in its 2017/18 financial year, compared to 317 967 in the previous year,” he said.
He said Dubai was the leading destination for Emirates passengers travelling from Zimbabwe, followed by Lusaka, London, Guangzhou, Beijing, New York, Mumbai, Delhi, Geneva and Istanbul.
“We are the only airline connecting Zimbabwe with a through-flight outside the African continent and this links the nation to our network of over 160 destinations in 86 countries and territories worldwide, enabling Harare passengers to be almost anywhere in the world within 24 hours of departure,” Falasi said.
While Emirates’ business strategy is to grow organically, the airline constantly considers a wide range of innovations that make commercial sense.
“There are 181 Zimbabwean nationals employed by Emirates, including nine pilots and 31 cabin crew,” said Falasi.
Meanwhile, the airline’s SkyCargo service provides freight services to Zimbabwe’s farmers delivering their produce to markets across the globe.
SkyCargo carried 1 900 tonnes of exports from Zimbabwe, mainly seasonal perishables last year, and brought in 1 176 tonnes of imports to Zimbabwe, including general cargo, pharmaceuticals and hatching eggs.
newsdesk@fingaz.co.zw
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