Online Reporter
Walter Nyamukondiwa in KARIBA
ZIMBABWEANS should visit local tourist destinations during the festive season, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Barbara Rwodzi has said, adding that Government was working on legislation to rationalise pricing in the sector and make tourism products affordable.
Tourism has contributed more to gross domestic product (GDP) than agriculture and mining for the first time in 2024 and 2025.
Speaking during the launch of the Domestic Tourism Festive Season Campaign in Kariba, Minister Rwodzi said domestic tourism had shown resilience in the face of constraints such as sanctions, which have progressively resulted in low disposable incomes.
“Domestic tourism is the biggest contributor to our tourism industry, so when we contributed 17 percent to the growth of the country’s GDP, the bigger chunk of it, about 75 percent, was because of the domestic tourism through the events we host in the country,” she said.
“This is why we clustered tourism to say there is religious tourism, where a lot of religious people travel in our country, a lot of people travel for sports and there are a lot of meetings, conferences, workshops hosted by Government, non-governmental organisations and churches … We are saying let’s celebrate Christmas in our country, with our friends and relatives.”
Homegrown solutions championed by President Mnangagwa, she said, were paying dividends, leading to the country being crowned the top must-visit destination in the world by Forbes Magazine.
“The President’s mantras promoting love for one’s country and duty to serve have been instrumental in the attainment of the results we see today, including recognition by Forbes Magazine despite sanctions,” she said.
