BY PHUMELELE MKHONTA
MBABANE– Eswatini is the talk of Africa.
Straight from a successful MTN Bushfire, the now internationally acclaimed festival in Africa and the world, Eswatini has been ranked among the 10 most friendly countries in the continent to visit.
Rating the country was The Travel, one of the world’s leading travel and tour online publications.
Also making it in the list of ‘Top 10 most friendly African countries to visit’ were South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Namibia, Botswana, Rwanda Senegal, Seychelles and Zambia. Worth noting is that the countries were listed in no particular order.
The Travel described Eswatini (Swaziland) as the ‘The Forgotten Gem beside South Africa’.
“South Africa is also a great base to explore other countries in Southern Africa – such as Lesotho and Eswatini (formerly Swaziland). Eswatini is a tiny country that few bother to visit. It is located just next to South Africa, and its people are extremely welcoming to foreigners.
“It is arguably one of the forgotten gems of Africa and definitely worth seeing when looking for less touristy places in Africa to visit. Discover why Eswatini is one of the hidden gems in Africa that’s worth visiting before planning a vacation to the African continent,” explained the publication, while offering a link to interesting sites in the country.
Eswatini Tourism Authority (ETA) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Linda Nxumalo said in the last two years alone, Eswatini had seen the emergence of new, one-of-a-kind tourism establishments comprising fine dining experiences, spas, intimate nature retreats at game and nature parks, water parks, zip lining, quad biking, game drives and many more thrilling outdoor activities.
“This signals the innovative nature of the Kingdom’s tourism industry and the resilience that has prompted the evolution of the industry even amid a crippling global pandemic. I highlight this to invite you to come to Eswatini and come back again and again because there is always something new to indulge in and explore,” said Nxumalo.
Unpacking the latest ETA statistics, the CEO said the statistics gathered for the first quarter of 2023 – that is the period between January and March – revealed that Eswatini saw a 138.8 per cent increase in international arrivals having recorded 178 742. She said this was 103 891 visits more than the figure recorded in the same months in 2022.
