Tourism: Back from the future

take Zimbabwe’s tourism to levels hitherto unimagined by most people.
Most of you are probably aware that tourism has been identified as one of the economic sectors to lead the revival of our national economy, together with agriculture, mining, and manufacturing. Going forward I am aiming at positioning tourism not as one of the lead sectors driving our economy, but as the anchor of Zimbabwe’s economy as we advance into the second Millenium.
I have very good reasons for aiming at what others may perceive as too ambitious a goal. These reasons have to do with the performance of tourism globally and the nature of tourism itself. It also has to do with the huge unexploited potential, almost unlimited, that Zimbabwe has to grow its tourism and really make Zimbabwe a destination of choice in Africa and the world.
Zimbabwe is richly endowed with natural and cultural resources that make the country a unique destination. The unexploited potential for growing Zimbabwe’s tourism rests literally with the whole of the Zimbabwean population and its specialised groups and institutions, including the military, yes the military.
However, in as much as there exists huge potential and opportunities for growing Zimbabwe’s tourism, there also exist some big challenges that need to be addressed before Zimbabwe’s tourism can really fly.
As far as Zimbabwe’s natural disposition is concerned we have our strengths, but we also have our weaknesses. Our strengths include our wonderful climate, the best in the world, and the pristine condition of our wildlife, both flora and fauna, as well as the general absence of major natural disasters and epidemics.
Our natural weaknesses of course include our lack of a sea shore, which tourists the world over simply love, and another natural weakness is the hot and humid weather during some parts of the year. The performance of the sector globally as well as Africa’s and Zimbabwe’s projected performance are strong bases for our optimism regarding the future performance of tourism.
Travel and tourism is one of the world’s leading industries, or economic sectors, representing a major source of GDP, employment, exports and taxes.
In 2011, the World Travel and Tourism Council expected to contribute almost US$6 billion to the global economy, or 9 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP).
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe is projected to be the second fastest growing Travel and Tourism Economy GDP in the period 2010-2020 with 8,7 percent annualised growth compared to China in the lead position with 10 percent Zimbabwe is also projected to be the third fastest growing Tourism Direct Industry Employer in the same period.
The rapid rise in global demand for travel and tourism over the past few decades has been spurred by the rise in living standards, in turn fuelled by growing wealth, coupled with the increased affordability of air travel.
According to the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) international arrivals have more than doubled since 1990, rising from 435 million to 675 million in 2000 and to 940 million in 2010.
The impacts of travel and tourism run deep into our economies. That is why I say tourism will in future constitute the anchor of our national economy. (But obviously, we need to plan for it). Tourism is not just about money visitors spend on travel, accommodation, activities and souvenirs — visitor exports — which in 2011 was expected to exceed US$1,2 billion around the world. But by its very nature, the industry stimulates the engagement and collaboration of communities, tourists, governments, local suppliers and businesses throughout the supply chain.
In Zimbabwe, the supply chain starts as low as the peasant who grows tomatoes in Domboshava, to the hotel that provides tourist accommodation, Zesa that provides power, right up to the airline that gives the tourist access to Zimbabwe.
In addition the 260 million estimated people around the world whose jobs are supported by travel and tourism (100 million of whom work directly in the industry) all spend a proportion of their own income on goods and services from all parts of the economy.
Zimbabwe is setting up the very commendable Community Share Ownership Trusts in the mining and corporate sectors. The ministry will encourage the setting up of similar trusts in those tourism subsectors where this is appropriate, but I must point out that to a large extent the whole sector is one giant community share ownership scheme.
This will be more pronounced when we get into village and township tourism, when we hope to create low cost easy entry into tourism business by our village folk — including women and the youth.
That aside, tourism is the right kind of sector to anchor the Zimbabwean economy. It generates spin-off benefits of a social and cultural nature. It does this at both national and international levels by directly helping to keep or to bring families and social networks together.
But the social benefits of travel and tourism go even further — a significant proportion of all international trips are to visit friends and/or relatives. Tourism indirectly promotes cultural heritage and global communication, helping to enhance understanding between people.
Tourism is also a vital source of income and employment in many developing countries around the world. It directly and indirectly supports 27 percent of all jobs in Namibia. Currently it supports 26 percent of employment in Zimbabwe.
It must be pointed out that there is a big difference between what tourism is achieving globally in terms of international arrivals and revenue and how specific regions like Africa, or specific countries like Zimbabwe, are performing.
The whole of Africa gets only 4 percent of the total global revenue earned by tourism, and most of that 4 percent is shared between South Africa and North Africa on one hand, and sub-Saharan Africa on the other hand.
So skewed are the proportions within Africa itself that Zimbabwe only gets a minute 2 percent of Africa’s 4 percent of the global total.
This state of affairs where Zimbabwe has such a tiny proportion of the cake, is one which, this Minister is saying should not be acceptable to Zimbabwe, to all Zimbabweans wherever they might be, it should not be acceptable to you and me.
Zimbabwe with its diversity of natural resources yielded by its diverse physical features, varying from the cool temperate mountain tops of the Eastern Highlands, to the balancing rocks of Epworth, right down to colourful Tshilojo Cliffs in the Southeastern Lowveld — its diverse wildlife species, including the rare threatened species like the black and white rhino are a rare spectacle.
Zimbabwe’s thousands upon thousands of different bird species, thousands upon thousands of different plant species, be they trees, bushes, flowers, or grass, surely cannot fail to develop tourism products that should attract greater and greater numbers of tourists, as both domestic and international visitors.
A Zimbabwe with its diverse array of wetlands ranging from one of the largest man-made lakes on the continent, Lake Kariba, the numerous waterfalls throughout the country, including the magnificent Victoria Falls in the north and the Mutarazi and Nyangombe falls in the east, and of course, the numerous hot-water springs dotted in locations like Binga and Chimanimani districts, surely cannot fail to develop water sport and spring-water related health tourism, which with our magnificent climate should be the envy of the world.
A Zimbabwe with such diverse rich cultures like the majestic cultures of the Ndebele, the exotic cultures of the Tonga, the flamboyant cultures of the Manyika, and the mesmerising cultures of the Shangani, cannot fail to develop tourism products that can hold the visitor in awe for endless days whilst he/she spends his money in Zimbabwe.
A Zimbabwe with such a rich history going back in time for centuries, culminating in a victorious armed revolution to regain its people’s human dignity and pride, cannot fail to develop historical tourism products that should draw hordes upon hordes of, not only leisure visitors, but also of academics, researchers and philosophers seeking to unravel the never-say-never spirit at the heart of our national ethos.
A Zimbabwe with high percentages of literacy among its people, a high and increasing number of university graduates, some of them world-class leading professionals in their areas of expertise be it in Law, Medicine, IT, military/war strategy, yes military/war strategy, be they at home or abroad in the diaspora, cannot fail to rally together and bring to bear the massive knowledge and experience that they have, and which we need to make mother Zimbabwe take-off and fly.

l Walter Mzembi is the Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry. This is part one of his insight into tourism delivered at the Zimbabwe Staff College.