Online Reporter
Walter Nyamukondiwa in KARIBA
Zimbabweans should travel to local tourist resorts this festive season, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Barbara Rwodzi has said.
This comes as Government fine-tunes the Tourism Amendment Bill to rationalise pricing in the sector, which has been previously blamed for turning away locals, who claim the charges are on the higher side compared to regional and Asian attraction centres.
Already, domestic tourism has contributed about 75 percent of the sector’s 17 percent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product.
Tourism has contributed more to GDP than agriculture and mining for the first time in 2024 and 2025.
Speaking at the launch of the Domestic Tourism Festive Season Campaign in Kariba last Friday, Minister Rwodzi said domestic tourism has shown resilience in the face of constraints such as sanctions that have caused company closures and low disposable incomes.
With legislative intervention anchored on wide consultations with stakeholders in the sector, Minister Rwodzi said domestic tourism has great potential for growth.
“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 hosted,” she said.
“This is why we clustered tourism to say that 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, NGOs and churches.”
Minister Rwodzi said interventions were aimed at promoting tourism at individual and family level, which is low owing to exorbitant costs.
“We are saying let’s celebrate Christmas in our country, with our friends and relatives,” she said.
Home-grown solutions espoused by President Mnangagwa, she said, have paid dividends leading to the country being crowned a Number One ‘must visit destination’ 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.
“As Government, we are currently working on the Tourism Amendment Bill in discussions with operators on areas that are contributing to high prices.”
The “Zimbabwe is Open for Business” mantra championed by President Mnangagwa has also unlocked huge inflows of investors, contributing to growth of the tourism sector.
Through provision of exceptional services and unmatched hospitality, Minister Rwodzi said Zimbabwe has attracted thousands of tourists.
Investment in infrastructure such as expansion of the Victoria Falls International Airport, which now accommodates wide-bodied aircraft, has also made Zimbabwe the regional tourism hub.
Government has targeted growth of tourism in Kariba, with Cabinet approving the commencement of works on the Harare-Chirundu Highway from the beginning of 2026.
Mashonaland West Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister, Marian Chombo, represented by permanent secretary Mr Josphat Jaji, welcomed Government’s devolution agenda, which has seen every part of the country hosting major activities.
Government officials and the Kariba community attended the event where artiste, Andy Muridzo, provided entertainment.
The launch of the Domestic Tourism Festive Season Campaign signifies the start of the festive season.
The campaign is running under the theme, “Zimbabwe, Our Heritage/ Nhaka Yedu/ Ilifa Lethu”.
Tourism and Hospitality Industry permanent secretary Mr Takaruza Munyanyiwa, Senator James Gumpo and other dignitaries, attended the event at Lake Harvest Leisure Centre.
