Source: Tourism has potential to generate enough foreign currency for Zim – Sunday News September 17, 2017
Mr Sifelani Jabangwe
Wilson Dakwa, Business Reporter
TOURISM has the potential to generate enough foreign currency and to help expose potential investors to the vast opportunities that the country has in other sectors.
In an interview in Bulawayo last week, Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries president Mr Sifelani Jabangwe said the country’s tourism sector has the potential to attract an excess of 1 million visitors in a single year.
“Tourism has got the potential to balance trade because if for example, we have 1 million tourist arrivals annually and each of them spends about $1 000, it means about $1 billion being poured into the country. Zimbabwe has a fairly good infrastructure although the perception of the country is very poor and this makes it difficult for us to access loans. Eliminating the negative perceptions pertaining Zimbabwe becomes easier for industry to attract investors because if we can’t get the potential investors to visit Zimbabwe as tourists, we can’t get their money as well,” he said.
Mr Jabangwe commended measures which the Government has implemented to help boost industries.
“Government has put in place various programmes aimed at improving the ease of doing business and cost of doing business. The implementation of SI64 has resulted in the import bill being reduced by over $1 billion between 2015 and 2016. Companies which were operating at 30 percent capacity utilisation are now operating at about 70 percent.
“Investment has been coming through into the country and some companies retooling. Government’s strategies are starting to yield results. We are looking at the improvement of the Indigenisation Act to ensure that policies are in place to give guidance to investors,” said Mr Jabangwe.
He said there was a need to equip small scale miners with efficient machinery to boost production.
“Gold is one of Zimbabwe’s main export earners. Small scale miners accounted for much of the gold received and it is therefore imperative that we mechanise them to produce much more gold,” he said.
This year, small scale miners in Zimbabwe are expected to contribute at least 13 tonnes of gold to national output, up from 9.7 tonnes that they produced last year.
Small-scale miners have contributed almost 40 percent of total output since 2015, when the Government legalised artisanal mining and embarked on an aggressive collection strategy, which saw the country’s sole buyer of gold, Fidelity Printers and Refineries, setting up buying depots across the country. -@WilsonDakwa1
COMMENTS
The potential is there and always was. One has god given and man made attractions, built from what the land has to offer – Vic Falls, Matobo, Kariba, Gt Zimbabwe, the national parks, safari lodges and the list is endless, not forgetting the Eastern Highlands and other places.
Perception is the problem, together with un-competative pricing compared to neighbors,a govt in crisis, un-stability, poor infrastructure. no law and order and again the list could go on.
Investment is confidence based on a fair return and partnership with an honest enterprise.
Tourism is much the same, safety, quality and value for money.
Quite a few people I know from Europe and the like have flown into the falls for 2 or 3 days and fly out to SA and so on, having seen nothing else of the country.
What are the strategies and marketing to turn this around.
Finally, we all know that no govt genuine reforms will change anything as it is on the ground at the moment. be it anything one can think of.
Please take note of the comments made by MPC. There is no infrastructure for Tourists to visit and have a good holiday. No means to access money through the Banks. Nothing to really see in the cities. Except poverty and the unfortunate reduced to a life of struggle. Fraud is rife. Police corruption. Officials fortunate enough to have a job is not enough so they greedy like some of the population that are in a position of employment and no morals no empathy but to add misery to the suffering of the people. Change and yes the Country has much to offer but things need to change first and it would be a Great country to visit.