Govt to set up tourism development committees

Masvingo Bureau
Government has announced plans to set up provincial tourism development committees throughout the country that will spearhead an aggressive tourism promotion drive as part of efforts to revive the sector.The establishment of the committees comes in the wake of Zimbabwe’s successful hosting of the just-ended 20th session of UNWTO general assembly indaba with Zambia.

The development also dovetails with the new thrust to aggressively promote domestic tourism and tap into its vast potential as Government moves to revive the once thriving tourism sector.

Director of domestic tourism in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry Ministry Mr Irvine Murombedzi said at the weekend there was a lot of potential in domestic tourism. He said the provincial committees would further enhance domestic tourism development.

“We will soon be setting up provincial tourism development committees that will spearhead tourism development in all the provinces in Zimbabwe and modalities for the committees have already been worked out. Soon, we will hit the ground.

“We realised as a ministry that there is a lot of potential in domestic tourism hence we are turning our focus to that. This will consolidate the gains that have been made in the revival of the tourism sector in Zimbabwe especially after the successful hosting of the UNWTO general assembly,’’ he said.

Mr Murombedzi said there was vast potential for domestic tourism development but Government should invest in that market.
He said Zimbabwe was endowed with various tourist attraction sites which remained unexplored by locals hence the vast potential for domestic tourism.

However, Mr Murombedzi also hailed the recent successful hosting of the UNWTO general assembly by Zimbabwe and Zambia saying Harare wanted to open and venture into new tourist markets in both Africa and Europe.

The tourism sector has been on a revival path over the past few years on the back of spirited marketing of Zimbabwe as a safe and prime tourist destination in Africa through the Tourism and Hospitality Industry Ministry.

Tourist arrivals from hostile Western nations have been on an upward trend and the recent hosting of the UNWTO general assembly by Zimbabwe further emboldened the country’s growing status as a prime tourist destination in the region and beyond.