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8 January 1992
More people visited the Great Zimbabwe monument, about 25 kilometres south of Masvingo, this festive season than last year, the regional director of the national monuments, Cde George Mvenge, said here yesterday.
“A total of 10 598 people passed through the monuments gates in December 1991. Of these, 4 633 were foreigners and 5 506 were locals,” he said.
He said in a statement that the bulk of local visitors were mainly from Harare which recorded 1 577. Masvingo accounted for 1 408 visitors, an increase which was attributed to the recently completed Masvingo to Great Zimbabwe road.
The number of foreign visitors continued to grow with South Africa providing the largest number followed by Britain and Germany.
Cde Mvenge attributed the increase in tourists from South Africa to the improved political climate in the sub-region and the devaluation of the Zimbabwean dollar which enabled South Africans to spend their holidays in Zimbabwe more cheaply.
“Because of increases in visitors from Germany, the national monuments might have to introduce some guide literature and tours in German.”
“Visitors interviewed felt this was one of the most important cultural heritage centres in the world and were generally impressed with the conservation programmes underway,: said Cde Mvenge.
Lessons:
While large-scale travel will be one of the last facets of normal society to recover from the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, domestic tourism will be the first signs of it. With lockdown and social distancing restrictions easing across the globe, domestic tourism is set to play a vital role in the rebuilding of economies and act as an indicator for the health and security of nations. Below are some few thoughts on the need to promote domestic tourism:
• The fortunes of Zimbabwe’s tourism has for a long time been hinged on the magnanimity of foreign tourists and visitors. While this phenomenon may not be bad considering that the country needs foreign cash, it is imperative we shift focus on scaling up numbers in the domestic tourism sector.
• Domestic tourism is one of the two types of tourism, the other one being international tourism. The former is the type in which natives visit their own country for sightseeing. International tourism, on the other hand, is where people visit foreign countries for adventure and sightseeing.
• The need to grow this aspect of our tourism requires that citizens develop a keen interest in patronising our tourists’ sites. It is a well-known fact that Zimbabwe is endowed with some of the most incredible sites in the world
• Domestic tourism can be used to stabilise the frequently cyclical and seasonal flows of inbound tourism. This is through encouraging domestic tourism to occur during the traditionally slow “off peak” demand periods that is normally associated with international tourism.
• Tourism leaders in Zimbabwe truly understand the business of tourism and the need to leverage the trend of heightened appeal in domestic tourism.
• Environment minister Nqobizitha Mangaliso Ndlovu in October 2020 launched a domestic tourism campaign dubbed ZimBho #IzimYami# Vakatsha aimed at encouraging domestic tourism.
Online Reporter