By JUDITH NAMUTOWE  –

THE Zambia Tourism Board (ZTB) has prioritised penetration of the European Union (EU) market to enhance tourism attraction in 2015.

ZTB managing director Felix Chaila said the board was targeting a 10 per cent growth rate for 2015 and that the move would also simulate tourism marketing in the eastern Asian regions of China and India.

The ZTB also targeted the United States of America (USA) markets as well as increasing its presence in Kenya, Namibia and other countries in the sub Saharan region.

Mr Chaila said in an interview in Lusaka yesterday that with increased involvement of the private sector, tourism markets would continue to expand for Zambia.

He said Angola was another earmarked destination where private sector participation could boost travels considering that the neighbouring country was an attractive shopping destination.

“So we need to target these markets because there is a lot of potential for growing the tourism sector,” he said.

By the end of this year, the ZTB would appoint ground agents in the key markets such as China, India, United Kingdom (UK), USA and South Africa.

“We will have five ground agents by the time we enter 2015 and will be smarter in the way we penetrate these markets because we will have people working for us even when we are not there,” Mr Chaila said.

He said ZTB had scored a number of achievements in 2014 and would continue working with the private sector in its continued efforts to enhance domestic tourism in the country.

He said the ZTB had been meeting with the Tourism Council of Zambia (TCZ) to see how they could address the handling of tourists at international airports for marketing purposes.

He said the current budget pegging of US$2million was still minimal compared to other countries in the region such as Zimbabwe, a major tourism competitor, whose budget was around US$10 million.