Two Saudi princes visit Zimbabwe

Two princes of Saudi Arabia's royalty arrived in Harare on Wednesday to visit the country's premier tourism resort areas, Victoria Falls and Hwange National Park, a local newspaper reported on Thursday.

Prince Abdulaziz Al Saud and Prince Mohammed Salman Al Saud, cousins of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, jetted into the country aboard the Air Zimbabwe flight from Dubai, official newspaper The Herald said.

Their visit comes barely a month after Zimbabwe scooped the Global Destination and Most Visited Stand award at the Kuwait International Travel Fair, an acknowledgment that the country ranks among the top tourist and safe destinations in the world.

The two said they would be in Zimbabwe for up to 30 days to relax, enjoy the country's hospitality and see game in Hwange, the country's major wildlife sanctuary.

The two are possibly the first high profile visitors to Zimbabwe from Saudi Arabia, or indeed the Middle East, in the past one year or two.

Zimbabwe has become a popular destination for visitors from the traditional European markets, and in the past few years, from Asia since tourism stakeholders started mounting campaigns to establish new tourist markets.

However, Zimbabwe still has to market itself aggressively in the Middle East, a potentially wealthy source market.

Source: Xinhua