by BERNARD CHIKETO
THE CHINESE tourist does not decide where to go by reading brochures. She decides in a feed, on a phone, in the space of a scroll. Zimbabwe, it turns out, has learned to win that scroll.
On July 1st the southern African country took the Gold Award in the Internet and Media Category at the 2026 Chinese Tourist Welcome (CTW) Awards, presented by the China Outbound Tourism Research Institute (COTRI).
The CTW programme, running since 2004, is no minor accolade.
It is the benchmark for the world’s largest outbound tourism market, with Gold, Silver and Bronze awarded across five categories: product innovation, service quality, marketing, internet and media, and overall performance.
To take Gold in the internet category is to be recognised as a standout performer in the business of reaching Chinese travellers where they actually are.
Zimbabwe’s victory rests on two strategic bets.
The first was a Key Opinion Leader (KOL) programme that brought influential Chinese travel content creators to showcase the country’s attractions across Douyin, WeChat and Xiaohongshu.
Rather than broadcasting at potential visitors, the approach let trusted voices do the talking—framing Victoria Falls and Great Zimbabwe in the visual language of platforms where wanderlust is born.
The second was a Victoria Falls China High-Speed Rail advertorial campaign, which placed Zimbabwe’s destination brand in front of hundreds of millions of passengers across China’s national rail network. Everyday commutes became moving postcards.
The timing is opportune.
Chinese arrivals to Zimbabwe reached 10,366 in the first quarter of 2026, a 24% increase from 8,373 in the same period last year.
Overall international tourist arrivals grew 11% to 384,515. Asia as a region rose 26% to 25,334 visitors, making it one of the fastest-growing source markets.
The numbers remain modest relative to Africa’s 287,062 arrivals, but the trajectory is clear.
The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority described the award as “a powerful endorsement” of the country’s digital marketing strategy and “the enduring friendship between Zimbabwe and China”.
Yet the real signal is commercial.
For a country whose tourism sector generated roughly $1.18bn in 2024, the Chinese market—long-haul, high-spending and digitally native—represents a prize worth chasing.
The challenge now is conversion. Visibility is one thing; visas, flights and on-the-ground service are another.
But for a moment, Zimbabwe has done what many destinations fail to do: it has put itself in the path of the Chinese traveller’s thumb. The scroll has been won.
The journey—both on the rails and off them—has only just begun.
Do you have a story to share? Email bchiketo@gmail.com
congratulations!