The Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe, host of this year’s Routes Africa forum in Victoria Falls, is hopeful the event will open airlines eyes to the massive potential the country offers for new air services and help it return visitor numbers to the high levels recorded in the mid 1990s. And after fastjet’s announcement at the forum that it will introduce flights between Dar es Salaam and Harare, David Chawota, chief executive officer of the Zimbabwe CAA is confident more air services will follow.

In an exclusive video interview with The HUB during Routes Africa, Chawota highlighted the enormous opportunities to develop Zimbabwe as a major southern African tourism hub and how investments at Harare and Victoria Falls Airports will enable the country to better serve visitors into the country from across Africa as well as longer-haul markets.