adminJohn Murwira Herald Correspondent
Government is set to construct a tarred road linking Zimbabwe’s tourist hubs of Kariba and Victoria Falls to boost tourism within the Victoria Falls Special Economic Zone. Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Prisca Mupfumira said Government was considering the construction of the link road under its turnaround strategy. “Government has seen it worthy to construct a road that will link Kariba and Victoria Falls to boost tourism in the two tourist attractions,” she said.
“There are three Special Economic Zones of which Victoria Falls is under my ministry, it’s a corridor from Hwange to Victoria Falls up to Kariba and we are coming up with a tourism master plan for that whole area,” she said.
Minister Mupfumira said a lot of investment in tourism is in the pipeline as investors had already started contacting Government on possible deals. “A lot of tourism investment is going to happen as some have already started to contact us,” She said. She added that there were plans to build hotels, schools along the corridor to create a virtual city.
She said Zimbabwe would receive technical and financial support to boost tourism after her successful trip to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation last year. “When I went to UNWTO we were promised technical and financial support and that support will go a long way in turning our tourism around,” she said.
She, however, called for a review of entrance charges to some resort areas.
“Some tourist attractions are charging high prices and we are going to look into this to make sure the prices are affordable,” she said.
Transport and Infrastructure Development Minister Jorum Gumbo recently told heads of Government departments, district administrators and chief executives from local authorities that the link road was a major priority.
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