Chronicle Editor
TODAY, President Mnangagwa is expected to officially launch the second phase of national vaccination programme in Victoria Falls.
From Monday, the resort city’s residents including church organisations have turned out in huge numbers to be vaccinated against Covid-19.
Victoria Falls becomes the first city to have ordinary citizens vaccinated against Covid-19 to complement the ongoing inoculation of frontline workers.
Government took a step to vaccinate all Victoria Falls residents to ensure that the city is protected as it readies itself for reopening of the tourism industry. It also seeks to boost the confidence of visitors in the wake of the global Covid-19 pandemic.
There were about 33 000 people in Victoria Falls in 2012 when the last census was held and the number is estimated to have grown to over 40 000.
According to Geo Fernweh, a German travel inspiration magazine, Victoria Falls is the second-best place to visit for holiday and leisure in the world.
American Travel + Leisure magazine also named Victoria Falls Safari Lodge as one of the best in the world and among top five facilities in Africa.
One of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Victoria Falls has been a Unesco World Heritage Site since 1989.
Last year, President Mnangagwa proclaimed Victoria Falls’ city status through Statutory Instrument (SI) 285 of 2020 and SI 286 of 2020.
The Victoria Falls Stock Exchange, which was opened last year, is expected to widen the city’s economic base.
It is, therefore, befitting that the President saw it fit to launch the second phase of national vaccination programme in Victoria Falls.
The people of Victoria Falls must be over the moon.
At a time when Covid-19 has ravaged the tourism and hospitality sector, not only in Zimbabwe but the world over, good things are happening in the country’s youngest city.
As Covid-19-induced restrictions are eased around the world, we urge Government to market Victoria Falls with all its might.
The second most beautiful place in the world should this year get more visitors than ever before. Tourists must have been frustrated over the past year or so when they have had to be stuck at home.
Which place in the world could be better to unwind and forget about the horrors of Covid-19 than Victoria Falls?
So, the marketing of this critical resort must match all the other efforts put in place by the President in making Victoria Falls the top most prime destination in the world.
Lessons can be learnt from Rwanda.
The Visit Rwanda campaign team took a bold step in 2018 when it decided to pay to have English football club, Arsenal, advertising “Visit Rwanda” on players’ sleeves.
Kigali and Arsenal signed a three-year deal worth £30 million.
“Before the partnership was signed, 71 percent of the millions of Arsenal fans worldwide did not consider Rwanda a tourist destination, at the end of the first year of the partnership, half of them considered Rwanda a destination to visit,” Belise Kariza, head of Rwanda Development Board’s tourism department told The Africa Report in 2019.
Spend big or stay home — that must be the Visit Rwanda moto.
Government must adapt the same. It might take a while, but the benefits of going big on a “Visit Victoria Falls” campaign will be worth every penny.
It is high time the world knows more about Victoria Falls City. It is high time the world experiences Victoria Falls.
Online Reporter