HARARE – Malaysian Airlines is one of three carriers warned off services to Zimbabwe by the African country’s government.
The others are Emirates and Nationwide from South Africa,
Local news media said the Zimbabwe government made the move to protect the national airline, Air Zimbabwe, from competition and loss of revenue.
Zimbabwe Tourism Association chief executive Karikoga Kaseke said the benefit the overseas airlines could have brought to the local economy in terms of traffic, revenue “and tourists telling the true Zimbabwean story†could have been very significant.
“Reasons such as ‘we are protecting our airlines’ were cited. What are we protecting it (Air Zimbabwe) from? They should learn to compete with other airlines. That is the only way they can remain competitive,†said Kaseke. 

Air Zimbabwe currently has four planes flying two Modern Ark (MA) 60s, Boeing 737 and a long haul 767.

A total of 18 international airlines have left the country since the economic crisis and negative publicity about Zimbabwe started 10 years ago.
These airlines include Lufthansa, Qantas, Austrian Airlines, Swissair, Air India, Air France and TAP Air Portugal. 

Kaseke said the tourism sector had the potential to be among the leading foreign currency earners in the country. 

“Areas that need urgent attention in the industry are its pricing structure. We are the most expensive in the region. Destinations compete and we could lose out in this regard.â€
Kaseke said 2008 was one of the worst years in the history of the tourism industry in Zimbabwe and “preliminary results so far (2009) are not pleasingâ€.
