Hunting rakes in US$10m
> The Herald,Business News | By zimvest | No comments


Hunting rakes in US$10m

New Ziana.

Zimbabwe has this year earned over US$10 million from hunting and safari activities.

Safari Operators Association of Zimbabwe president Mr Emmanuel Fundira told New Ziana the sector had benefited from the prevailing stable macro-economic environment in the country.

“The season went on extremely well, we exceeded our expectations,” he said.

He said this year’s earnings represented a 20 percent increase on last year, and foreign hunters dominated.

“More than 65 percent of our clients were from America followed by Europe, Spain, the United Kingdom, Portugal and Italy,” said Mr Fundira.

He said a considerable number of hunters also came from Russia, which he described as an “emerging market”.

Mr Fundira bemoaned interruptions the sector faced during the hunting season that spans from March to November.

“We were disturbed by competing economic activities since quite a considerable number of gold mining claims were issued in safari areas like Hwange, Zambezi Valley and Dande,” he said.

He said Government should consider not allocating claims in safari areas.

“Mining activities disturbed smooth operations of the safari industry,” he said.

Mr Fundira, however, expressed optimism that 2011 would record growth in the sector.

He said safari operators would attend shows in Europe and Russia to market Zimbabwe. — New Ziana.

Just curious. Where did the US10 million go and who ends up with most of it?

Larry Sellers
SCI Life Member