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Brandon Moyo, Sports Reporter
SPORTS Tourism is a key driver of growth in the global sports economy with its market size valued at US$323 million and projected to reach US$1 billion by the year 2030. One can no longer distinguish between sports and tourism, the two have become one of the same. With the opportunity of hosting a sporting event, comes the chance to showcase the beauty of a nation to the visiting nations or teams.
However, sports tourism is a fairly new concept in Africa but is fast becoming a sought-after socio-economic activity as people travel to watch various sporting disciplines around the world.
Global or regional tournaments are known to significantly contribute to the sports tourism sector with spectators, officials and players flying into a country to play and to buy tourism products.
A couple of weeks ago, Bulawayo was given the opportunity to play host to the Squash Federation of Africa (SFA), 2022 Senior Championships which was played in four different venues in the City of Kings and Queens.
The hosting of this prestigious event provided a unique opportunity for the Zimbabwe Squash Federation (ZSF) to market the country as a sports tourism destination, opening doors for future international tournaments in the country in the process.
Squash powerhouse, Egypt, who won the SFA Championships, had the opportunity to visit one of the country’s finest tourist destinations around the proximity of Bulawayo, Matopo National Park before they headed back up north.
Coming into the country, the Egyptians had done their research on the Matopo National Park as they have, back home, a place with almost a similar name, Mataba which is situated near the Tomb of Kagemni and close to the Pyramid of Teti.
The plan, however, was to take all teams to one of the world’s seven wonders, Victoria Falls and Antelope Park in Gweru, but with no proper funding, the board could not afford to.
“Our desire was to take all teams to Victoria Falls and Antelope Park but we were constrained by finances,” said SFA President and ZSF Chairperson Lucky Mlilo.
It was not the first time that a visiting squash team was given a feel of the beauty of Zimbabwe, in 2018 the Nigerian team visited the Natural History Museum of Zimbabwe in Bulawayo which is the best museum in Southern Africa and ranked fourth in size in Africa.
“It is our objective to promote sports tourism each time we host visitors. We are ambassadors in this area and we are willing to engage in partnerships for the promotion of our beloved country,” Mlilo said.
The response from the Egyptians after the visit was highly positive with players like Nour Wageeh posting their experiences on social media.
“We miss Zimbabwe already,” the head of the Egypt ladies’ team, Amna El Tarabolsy told Mlilo. — @brandon_malvin
Online Reporter