Vusumuzi Dube
Rutendo Nyeve, Sunday News Reporter
THERE have been amplified calls for various stakeholders within the aviation, tourism and hospitality sectors to foster collaboration to harness the country’s potential and help attain a US$5 billion tourism economy by year 2025.
This came up during the inaugural Aviation Development Forum held on the sidelines of the Sanganai/Hlanganani World tourism expo underway in Bulawayo.
Aviation players expressed their commitment towards collaboration and playing their role in enhancing both domestic and international tourism through accessibility.
Air Zimbabwe Chief Executive Officer Mr Edmund Makona said the national airline is poised to drive the national vision 2030 and its mission is to provide safe and reliable air transport services that facilitate trade, investment and tourism.
“As we are fulfilling our mandate, Air Zimbabwe is saying to all of us, men and women are not judged by how they fall but how they rise afterwards. In our quest to rise, we are doing it in a collaborative manner. We are doing this guided by cooperation, coordination and collaboration.
“As such, we will not try and make a name in the international arena but we will first congest the domestic market. By so doing we will grow our airline from inside, then go regionally and internationally. We aim to make Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport the business hub and Victoria Falls International airport the tourism hub,” said Mr Makona.
Fast Jet Chief Commercial Officer Ms Vivian Ruwuya said the tourism sector cannot be left out in the aviation space as they are key for them.
“Basically when there is accessibility to a tourism destination, we bring in the flights to that particular place but in this instance if I may take an example of Victoria Falls to be specific. When you have accessibility from different markets be it international and domestic we are able to then work hand in hand with the hotels and tour operators in promoting, advertising, reaching out to all the different markets to say we have this product.
“From us as an airline, we offer specific fares that we call IT fares. These offer a full package that may include the flight, hotel, tourism activities so it becomes a whole experience in one. So we do partner with the tour operators in creating that package,” said Ms Ruwuya.
The aviation development forum came at the backdrop of improved infrastructure in the aviation sector, flexible policies that have opened the country’s airspace amongst other developments which the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality applauded.
Chief Director of Tourism and Hospitality management in the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Ms Tarirai Musonza revealed that the expo managed to bring together over 100 international buyers from across the world who had a choice to land directly at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport, Victoria Falls International Airport and Joshua Mqabuko International Airport because of polices in place for International Airlines to land directly at these Airports.
“Today we all heard how beneficial these policies have aided growth of both domestic and international aviation. As an industry we are equally ecstatic with the increased interest by airlines to fly into our destination post-Covid. Moreover, we applaud the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development through the Airport Company of Zimbabwe (ACZ) for completing the first phase of upgrading the RGMIA into a modern International Airport, able to handle over 6 million passengers from the 1.5million passengers handled before the upgrade.
“This signals a change of discourse in all tourism business and projections. The opening up of the new airport which is capable of landing wide boarded aircraft has been a game changer within the destination. We wholeheartedly appreciate the effort made by Government to bolster accessibility and tourism arrivals into the country,” said Ms Musonza.
She said the combined flights, and passenger increase from the country’s airports’ carrying capacity at RGMIA and Victoria Falls International Airport among others has also resulted in a steady growth in tourism arrivals into the destination post-Covid.
“Air Accessibility plays a major role in tourism business, and it is our wish for you to continuously develop both local and international accessibility stretching to smaller Airports like Mutare, Kanyemba, Binga, Masvingo among others,” said Ms Musonza.
@nyeve14
Bongani Ndlovu