Source: New tourism attractions on cards | The Herald July 19, 2017
Sydney Kawadza Senior Reporter
Zimbabwe is set to develop new and unexplored tourism attractions to enhance its chances of making the sector a $5 billion economy by 2020.
The initiative is part of the National Tourism Master Plancrafted by the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry which would include the strengthening of Tourism Development Zones and Community-based Tourism Development among its targets.
Speaking on the sidelines of the National Tourism Master Plan Sensitisation Workshop in Harare yesterday, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Walter Mzembi said his department, through the programme, was geared to build the sector around Zimbabwe’s God-given endowments.
“We have signposted a $5 billion tourism economy by the year 2010. It’s called – Vision 5:5:15:2020 – towards a $5 billion tourism economy from five million arrivals, contributing 15 percent to the Gross Domestic Product, by year 2020,” he said.
Minister Mzembi said the Master Plan would also seek to create, out of Zimbabwe, a world class destination. “We already are (a world class tourist destination) by virtue of the endowments that we have in our country, with the Victoria Falls, being the signature attraction for the country,” he said.
In its executive summary, the Master Plan says time was ripe for tourism to become the strategic spearhead to move Zimbabwe to new more favourable horizons.
The Master Plan also captured 11 tourism development zones, some of which, have been designated to Special Economic Zones. These include the Victoria Falls that already has enhanced features in terms of investment attractiveness.
“My vision is really to see that extension of SEZ status extended to all remaining 10 in the country so that we have a democratic dispensation that ensures that there is tourism for all inclusivity,” Minister Mzembi said.
COMMENTS
Hey, Walter – get a place for Bob’s coffin so that the world can visit the site of a man who caused 20 000 people to be murdered like the concentration camps in Germany. The tourists can also reflect on a person who lead your party to destroy an entire country. This will be a Tourist World Beater and you can claim all the praise because you are part and parcel of the whole show. Zanu are legends in their own time for murder and theft.
Walter Mzembi is a dreamer (and from the look of him an overfed one).
All the people who return here to the UK from a tourist trip to Zimbabwe rush to tell me, as a Zimbabwe exile, all their horror stories that they met with in Zimbabwe.
Stories such as being stopped at up to ten Police road blocks on a 100 km journey and then being browbeaten into handing over gifts such a money and food and drinks that they were using on their journey. Another gripe they have was having to pay much more that Zimbabweans for any services that they needed, such as accommodation and visits to national parks.
Walter and all in the Zimbabwe Government must realise that there are many other attractive tourist areas in Africa and if they want to get a piece of that pie they have got to clean up their act.