By MAIMBOLWA MULIKELELA –

THE Zambian Tourism Board (ZTB) has projected to increase the international tourist arrivals by about 20 per cent from 914,576 to 1.2 million this year.

ZTB managing director Felix Chaila said Zambia international arrivals grew by 6.7 per cent year-on-year from 859,088 in 2012 to 914,576 in 2013, representing a high arrival growth rate.

Southern Africa region recorded total arrivals of just more than 22 million, representing a market share of global arrivals of approximately 2.5 per cent and 39.9 per cent share of Africa’s total arrivals.

” Zambia’s tourist arrivals for 2013 were at 914,576 and with estimated earnings of US$300 million,” he said.

He said the tourism sector would contribute about four per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2014 from the current three per cent and targets six per cent by 2016.

“There was 13 per cent increase in the leisure travel; we have seen a drop of 31 per cent in the business travel and this has been going down in the last two years and we have since written to the Zambia Development Agency (ZDA), the body in charge of attracting business travel in the country and of course we also promoting Zambia as a business destination,” he said.

Presenting the board’s 2013 annual report to journalists in Lusaka, Mr Chaila said the conference category of international arrivals registered the most impressive growth rate of about 409 per cent during the year under review, from 7,598 in 2012 to 38,678 in 2013.