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Africa Moyo Deputy News Editor
Zimbabwe is promoting its tourist attraction centres at the World Travel Market (WTM) 2023, which started in London, the United Kingdom, yesterday.
The WTM, a must-exhibit travel show hosted by the UK every year, brings together the global travel trade under one roof to discuss business, innovations and trends in the industry.
It ends on Thursday.
Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister, Barbara Rwodzi, is leading the Zimbabwe delegation that comprises the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority and a number of tour operators, namely the Rainbow Tourism Group, African Sun, Cresta Hotels, Coghlan Villa Guest House, Daisy Guest House, Mhukahuru Tours and Resorts, Click and Drive Tours, Victoria Falls Hotel, The Bayete Collection, Rhino Safari Camp and Blueberry Travel.
As part of efforts to promote Gastronomy Tourism, an initiative of First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa, Zimbabwe will also showcase its traditional cuisine at the WTM 2023.
Given its importance to promoting healthy living, Gastronomy Tourism is being promoted at the WTM even in the absence of the First Lady.
Gastronomy Tourism is a way of preserving the Zimbabwean tradition and culture, and promotion of healthy living and national identity.
Minister Rwodzi said international tourism promotion remains a critical component of Zimbabwe’s tourism recovery as it significantly contributes to export earnings through tourism receipts.
“The WTM is an event that Zimbabwe has always been participating in, every year because the UK is the second biggest market in the world, so we still want to maintain our relationship with big markets, that is, the UK,” said Minister Rwodzi.
“So the whole of last year, we received 53 000 people from the UK, which makes it very key and as we speak, we have registered 33 000 people.
“As such, we want to grow this market more and more and participation during the WTM is very key for us as a Ministry of Tourism, ZTA (Zimbabwe Tourism Authority) and as Government.”
Minister Rwodzi said Gastronomy Tourism had taken Zimbabwe by storm.
“It was an initiative that was put up by the First Lady of Zimbabwe, Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa. She initiated this in 2019, but we did not take it seriously.
“It was focusing more on our culture; bringing back our culture, bringing back the healthy culture into the country and at the same time, as she is the patron of Tourism, she is focusing on Gastronomy Tourism, running competitions across the country from district level to national level.
“In 2021, she resumed the programme at the break of the Covid-19 and we went again around with the First Lady.
“However, in 2022 she handed over the programme to the Ministry of Tourism for us to run it. Amazingly and very impressively, the UNWTO recognised our First Lady for initiating this programme,” she said.
About a month ago, Dr Mnangagwa was honoured in Spain for initiating Gastronomy Tourism in Africa.
A tourism player exhibiting at the WTM, Mr Peter Tetlow who owns Rhino Safari Camp, said he is at the WTM to “promote Zimbabwe as a whole and our camp”.
Victoria Falls general manager Mr Farai Chimba said they are at WTM to “exhibit and let people know what we have in terms of products in the country”.
“We believe we have a very diverse portfolio of products to showcase to the world and drive more traffic into the destinations,” he said.
Online Reporter