Vic Falls Update with Getaway Safaris Victoria Falls The Home Of Victoria Falls Backpackers Lodge

March 17, 2009 - PRLog -- ‘Zim cholera slowing down’ – WHO
A report from South Africa’s News24 on Friday quoted a World Health Organisation spokesperson as saying the epidemic in Zimbabwe may be showing signs of slowing down.
The WHO’s Fadela Chaib said: "We have recorded a certain decline in cases and deaths from week to week".  However, the situation still called for vigilance, she cautioned.  The WHO, working in consultation with Zimbabwe’s own Health Ministry, was still analysing the state of affairs and would report on the signs of a slowdown within weeks, she added.

Meanwhile, GetawaySafaris.com is pleased to report that to date no incidents of the disease have been reported in the district.

‘Not a single tourist affected by cholera in Zimbabwe’
While Zimbabwe comes to grips with a widespread cholera epidemic, ‘not a single tourist’ at any of Zimbabwe’s holiday resorts and tourism establishments had been affected by the disease, says the country’s new tourism and hospitality minister Walter Mzembi.
He said both locals and intending visitors needed to be fully informed of  cholera was spread, and measures to prevent and treat it.

ASTA heads for SA, and VFA
The American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) has scheduled tours to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe as part of its International Destinations Expo, in Sun City, South Africa soon. Close to 1000 US travel agents are expected to attend the event and to take familiarization tours of the region’s tourist highlights.  Below are excerpts from a recent interview with ASTA head William Maloney published recently by eTN, an online travel trade medium:
eTN: Where are your members inclined to want to visit at this point?
Maloney: They’re going to go all over. A lot of them are going to Cape Town, and a lot of them are going on the bush adventures – the various place where they can go and experience and see the animals. But some of them are going into Cape Town, others are going up to Zimbabwe to see Victoria Falls, and even Botswana.
eTN: You bring up Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. Do you have any apprehensions for going there, given the cholera issue and the political situation being so unstable?
Maloney: We have not organized any trips to Harare, but there are some trips that will go into Vic Falls, and they will probably get to see both the Zambia and the Zimbabwe sides of the falls.
eTN: Personally, do you have any apprehensions for going to Victoria Falls?
Maloney: No. Personally, I’m going myself, and I’m taking my daughter and son-in-law.
eTN: It’s a beautiful sight to see.
Maloney: Yes.
eTN: What about your members? Do they have any apprehensions about going to Zimbabwe?
Maloney: I haven’t polled them, and so I have no information on that.
eTN: When I spoke to Kathy – you read the interview – she was resolute in saying that tourism under no circumstance should ever end. With cholera now being added into the growing list of Zimbabwe’s challenges, do you still agree with Kathy on this?
Maloney: First of all, Kathy agrees with the ASTA philosophy that travel is a right of free people and that there is no way we should have political restrictions on the places we are free to go or not go. So that’s an ASTA philosophy and a belief. That given, there are some places that, from time to time, are unsafe because of civil (un)rest, because of disease, because of other things, and travel agents need to advise their travelers of what are the conditions in those places. I think every traveler must be aware of cholera, and cholera is not a laughing matter, it is a very serious thing, and I hope that they get it under control quickly.
Zimbabwe’s new tourism minister raring to go
Walter Mzembi, Zimbabwe’s new tourism and hospitality minister has intimated that he would like to see the regional univisa implemented, as well as to work to wards opening up Zimbabwean skies to allow international carriers to help increase inbound tourist traffic.
He told Press and tourism industry leaders this week that he was also keen to re-brand Zimbabwe so that it became known for its spectacular destinations and great hospitality.

# # #

At Getaway Safaris we strive to make your African safari the experience of a lifetime. Of course, it helps to know what you have in mind when you think of safari travel. By choosing one of the following options you'll be taken to the African safari we think would suit you best.

Victoria Falls has an impressive list of credentials; the widest curtain of falling water on earth, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of only seven natural wonders on the planet. Often, when there's so much hype about a place, you prepare yourself for a slight let down. This is definitely not the case with Victoria Falls.

We recommend a Victoria Falls safari holiday combining the majesty and adrenaline of Victoria Falls with great game viewing.