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Government’s decision to review visa regimes and keep Air Zimbabwe in the skies permanently will certainly unlock value of the tourism and hospitality sector.
Senior Minister of State Simon Khaya Moyo says introduction of tourism industry incentives would be expedited to improve the performance of the tourism sector.
He was officially opening the sixth edition of the Sanganai/Hlanganani World Travel and Tourism Fair in Harare on Thursday.
We have previously taken note of and commended the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority for its tireless efforts to turn around the fortunes of the country’s tourism sector.
The incentives will help the tourism promotion body in its quest to enhance the performance of the tourism sector.
This year’s Sanganai/Hlanganani fair comes on the heels of the successful co-hosting with Zambia of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation general assembly.
The UNWTO general assembly helped market Zimbabwe and its co-host Zambia. Efforts must continue to work towards improving the tourism sector because it has huge potential to generate foreign currency and help spur the country’s economy.
Just this year alone the ZTA has been on a relentless campaign to market the country’s tourism sector.
In the first half of the year, the tourism promotion body launched the Zimbabwe International Carnival festival as part of efforts to tap into the tourism opportunities accruing from culture and heritage.
Culture and heritage are central to tourism in that tourists are attracted to visit a country to learn about its culture and heritage.
The ZTA has been at the forefront of correcting the poor image caused by the bad publicity Zimbabwe has been receiving since 2000.
We are winning the war to shed off the bad image as a country because of the efforts of our national bodies such as the ZTA and many other stakeholders.
Over the years, the tourism promotion body has also held other promotional events such as the Jacaranda Festival, Miss Tourism Zimbabwe and the Tourism Nights in addition to business exhibitions and conferences such as the premier tourism and travel fair Sanganai/Hlanganani.
To this end Minister Khaya Moyo’s assurance that Government would do everything in its power to ensure Sanganai/Hlanganani is adequately funded is welcome.
“Tourism is highly dependent on other enablers hence Government will work on recapitalising all sectors of the economy that impact on tourism to unlock value out of the sector. Funding commensurate with these expectations will be availed,” said Minister Khaya Moyo.
Last year Sanganai/Hlanganani generated $250 million in annual tourism receipts and the expo has been growing significantly over the past few years.
This year it is expected to generate in excess of $300 million, according to Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Walter Mzembi.
The fair will continue to be a stimulus to our tourism sector as it has proved to be an essential marketing platform.
As Minister Mzembi suggested, plans for the fair to forge strategic alliance with some equally huge tourism fairs in the region such as the Indaba in South Africa must be expedited.
Statistics up to March this year show that tourist arrivals in Victoria Falls went up by nine percent compared to the same period last year while revenue rose by 20 percent.
All this is a result of the work being done by Government through its various arms and departments which include the ZTA.
We must work to consolidate these gains through such initiatives as Sanganai/Hlanganani.
Online Reporter