Trust Freddy-Herald Correspondent
ZIMBABWE’S heritage-based tourism strategy has triggered massive economic turnaround in the sector, with domestic travel reaching an unprecedented 6,4 million visits in the first half of the year as more Zimbabweans explore their own country.
The performance follows the country’s recognition as the world’s Best Nature Destination for this year, a feat attributed to an intentional policy shift toward leveraging indigenous natural assets and historical landmarks.
Delivering a keynote paper at the Zimbabwe National Defence University yesterday, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Barbara Rwodzi said the sector’s revival is rooted in an authentic Zimbabwean identity.
The presentation was titled: “Preservation and State identity: The adoption of a heritage-based tourism cluster approach to foster national pride and prevent cultural erosion.”
Minister Rwodzi said global destination marketing is only effective when anchored on a country’s distinct, home-grown heritage.
“Tourism and hospitality must work together as a global tourism authority,” Minister Rwodzi told delegates.
“We have the mandate of marketing and promoting our destinations worldwide, but we cannot sell, market, or promote what we do not have or are not given.
“What we have is what makes our country, which includes the attractions spread across all our provinces, and that is what we market.”
The country’s iconic sites are divine and ancestral gifts that cannot be replicated elsewhere.
“Victoria Falls was a gift from God. Even Great Zimbabwe was built by our ancestors through divine inspiration. Why didn’t ancestors from other countries build something like Great Zimbabwe? It was only given to us.
“We have the Eastern Highlands and Nyanga, whose beauty was bestowed by God. Chipinge and its surroundings were given by God,” Rwodzi said.
“Look at all the other places across the country — who else on the continent could have built another Kariba? It was constructed by our people with the help of international partners, but the Kariba Dam and the lake itself are gifts that we share with the world.”
Zimbabwe’s tourism sector had surpassed pre-pandemic levels, with recovery standing at 104 percent of pre-COVID-19 levels at the end of last year.
She said domestic tourism trips increased by 27 percent to 6,4 million in the first half of this year compared to 5 million in the first half of last year, driven by the Ilifa Lethu/Nhaka Yedu campaign.
Tourism receipts grew by 6 percent in the first half of this year, while tourism investments increased by 229 percent.
Direct employment contribution from tourism stood at 3,5 percent she said.
