Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. VICTORIA FALLS, May.05, (NewsDayLive) – A total of 47 633 international tourists visited the Victoria Falls rain forest during the first quarter of 2025, marking a significant rise from the 44 110 visitors recorded over the same period last year.
Most of the visitors were from European countries, particularly the United Kingdom, Ireland and Germany.
According to a statement by the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks), when combined with a decline in local visitors, the total arrivals for the first quarter amounted to 1 421.
“Victoria Falls Rainforest has seen an increase in tourist arrivals during the first quarter of 2025, recording a total of 61 139 compared to 59 718 during the same period in 2024,” said ZimParks spokesperson Tinashe Farawo.
ZimParks said a number of pull factors including the availability of dedicated tour packages, expansion of the Victoria Falls Airport and introduction of new flight routes with some directly from Frankfurt in Germany has enhanced interest among foreign tourists.
“The implementation of the KAZA visa (UniVisa), which simplifies cross-border travel between Zimbabwe and Zambia, has also played a pivotal role in encouraging visitors to explore both sides of the falls, offering a more seamless travel experience for tourists from many countries,” Farawo said.
Meanwhile, in what could be a reflection of shrinking buying power among local citizens due to a tanking economy, domestic visitors to the rain forest recorded a decline, with numbers dropping from 15 608 in 2024 to 13 506 in 2025.
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