tawandamusarurwa
Charles Mavhunga
TOURISM branding is reflected by the country’s national flag, which symbolises the traditions, culture, historical values and status of the nation in the global arena.
The period between 1890 and 1980, when the country was under colonial rule, defines the transitional road to establish the country’s national brand, in terms of tourism destination branding.
The route followed to wrest the country from colonial powers delineates the complexities involved in establishing the country’s real identity in the process of branding tourism destinations.
Zimbabwe’s national flag was raised in 1980, when the colonial leadership fell and a new Zimbabwe was born.
It forms the country’s identity and branding character of tourism destinations.
In the branding process, the national flag communicates the country’s traditions, cultural values, history and future.
It also symbolises national values associated with the country’s resort centres, and generates the competence and qualities of service delivery.
Not only does it represent the country’s brand, but it also individualises the resort centres in terms of visibility of the nation in the world.
In addition, the flag communicates the message of the nation’s destinations in terms of trademarks and designer symbols of its citizens.
The citizens project the beauty of the flag.
Zimbabweans have a role to play in terms of branding resort centres by projecting local experiences to the world.
Tourism is a complex business because success stories of the country’s logo form the experiences customers get when they visit the country. The heroism of wresting a nation from colonial settlers should be used by citizens to brand the nation’s tourism heritage.
The road to independence is a trademark of glory that Zimbabweans must feel proud to showcase to the world.
The road to independence and establishing Zimbabwe’s national flag should be connected to the country’s poetic function of branding.
Tourism branding, through the logo, is meant to create the visual identity of the country.
Zimbabweans have to demonstrate to visitors a lot of pride in their nation by cultivating a deep commitment to the values and gains of independence.
Europeans, Asians and Americans have a culture of positive thinking in terms of the future of their nations. The messages they post on social media about how they value their countries as citizens demonstrate commitment to supporting their home countries.
However, in Africa, and Zimbabwe in particular, there is need for a culture shift from the deep-rooted colonial mindset to an independent one, which is culturally ingrained to demonstrate an understanding of the importance of independence from colonial rule.
This means Zimbabweans should positively brand their country.
The true art of branding using the national flag is defined by distillation — the art of extracting positives that are defined by the country’s tourism destinations.
The distillation process creates authentic and compelling values that are carried by the country’s logo to establish the national identity.
Zimbabwe’s history is connected by the various colours that are reflected by the logo.
Citizens have a task to align their behaviours and attitude to symbolise the meaning of the logo as an important identity of the country.
The tourism destinations in Zimbabwe represent the distinctive features of the nation in terms of tranquillity, peace and freedom from colonial rule.
Zimbabwe’s background is characterised by distinctive features that cultivate pride, passion and love among the citizenry.
Citizens who tarnish the country’s image for personal gain are essentially tarnishing themselves because they cannot separate themselves from the country.
Naturally, Zimbabweans are expected to decorate the country’s image with colourful sentiments to promote tourism.
The world expects citizens to be at the forefront in terms of destination branding to improve the image and reputation of the country’s logo at various resort centres.
Brand experts have established that the cultural aspects of a country’s logo are connected with the spirit of self-respect and love of a nation, hence the need for citizens to raise the country’s image by communicating sentiments that are positive to the world.
The spiritual and intellectual qualities of a nation’s resort centres are symbolised by the logo of the nation.
Citizens are the carriers of the logo that defines the identity of the country.
It speaks to individuals visiting the country and personifies the multifaceted personalities of Zimbabweans.
The Zimbabwe flag is, therefore, a symbol of reality of the country’s rich destinations in terms of unique and intangible benefits associated with its historical values.
Zimbabweans in the diaspora are expected to behave in the same manner that Europeans and other nations do when they describe the history of their countries.
There is need for positivity.
The country’s logo should be its brand promise to the world.
Charles Mavhunga co-authored textbooks in business enterprising skills. He is currently studying for a PhD in Management at Bindura University of Science Education. He can be contacted at: [email protected], Cell: +263772989816
Online Reporter
Tinaye Agere