THE Osaka Expo 2025, currently underway in Japan, has elevated Zimbabwe’s investment profile on the global stage and opened avenues for increased exposure to international markets, Vice President Kembo Mohadi has said. The development is expected to contribute to economic growth and an increase in Gross Domestic Product, with tourism identified as a key sector for harnessing this potential. Vice President Mohadi, who is attending the Expo which has been ongoing for the past six months and concludes on October 13, highlighted the significance of this event for Zimbabwe.
“The Expo has put Zimbabwe on the global map, which is very important. The world has now developed into a global village and there is no way that we can remain behind. We are part and parcel of that global village,” he said.
VP Mohadi emphasised the importance of cultural exchange and reiterated the need to embrace other cultures. “It’s also important to learn from you (Japan) that we will visit a cultural site. We need to learn from other people’s cultures too in the world because we are hosted by Japan, this is their home,” he said.
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“I am happy that one of the reasons we are here is that Japan is one of the largest economies in the world. Therefore, we need to tap into that in terms of trade,” he said. “We have a lot back home that we can trade with Japan.
Unfortunately, we are not very aggressive on the ground for the Japanese to appreciate what we have. Zimbabwe boasts numerous tourist sites that remain largely undisclosed to the world,” he said. “Tourism is an economy; in many countries, especially in South America and the Caribbean, it contributes significantly to their fiscus.
We can do the same.” “We are not exporting it to the world, we are not talking much about it. We need to entice them to come and see what we have. We must package our tourism and trade to attract more visitors,” he said.
Referring to the pre-COVID-19 tourist figures, VP Mohadi said before the pandemic, Zimbabwe used to receive about 30 000 tourists from Japan annually, a figure he said is not enough. “That number dropped significantly but is now recovering, with around 15 000 tourists per year. We need to do more,” he said.
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