BY PHUMELELE MKHONTA
MBABANE- The number of tourists visiting the country has increased.
This is according to Eswatini Tourism Authority (ETA) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Linda Nxumalo, who revealed this in the morning today on Eswatini Broadcast and Information Service (EBIS1). She said this during the programme ‘Letishisako’.
Nxumalo said the number of tourists increased to 50 per cent, however, not stating the exact amount of tourists who recently flocked the country during the holiday season.
The tourism industry in the country lay dormant amid the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Worth noting is that the country has had a busy holiday season in the past two, mainly due to Umhlanga Reed Dance and the popular Swazi Rally.
Swazi Rally alone, attracted over 5 000 bikers, which included tourists. Also, the Reed Dance attracted throngs of tourists.
When sought for comment with regards to the increase of tourists in the country, Minister of Tourism and Environment Affairs Moses Vilakati said they were excited to experience the drastic increase of tourists in the past two weeks.
Vilakati said the ministry was on the process of working on attracting more tourists when speaking to this reporter yesterday.
“It is public knowledge that the emergence of COVID-19 greatly affected the tourism industry. However, the industry has proven to be very resilient,” said Vilakati.
The minister said they observed the increase in the influx of tourists in a Cycling run, Swazi Rally and during Umhlanga Reed Dance.
“Hotels and filling stations expressed their excitement to the ministry with regards to the past two weeks,” said Vilakati.
He further said the ministry was hoping to see an increase in numbers during the Standard Bank Luju Food and Lifestyle Festival, which is slated from September 30 to October 1, 2022.
“We are seeing more tourists from Mozambique, the Mpumalanga and Gauteng Provinces in South Africa. We are hoping they continue visiting the country,” said Vilakati.
