Online Reporter
Nqobile Bhebhe
Zimpapers Business Hub
AFRICAN COUNTRIES have been urged to market tourism destinations collectively, with Government and private-sector players stating that stronger regional partnerships and improved travel connectivity are critical to unlocking billions of dollars in untapped value.
The shift towards collaboration emerged as a dominant theme at the inaugural Sanganai/Hlanganani/Dzimbahwe Chief Executives Roundtable, held at the Great Zimbabwe Hotel in Masvingo on Tuesday.
The high-level engagement brought together tourism leaders from the Government, regulators and the private sector to explore ways of strengthening destination competitiveness and positioning Africa to capture a larger share of global tourism flows.
Discussions centred on joint destination marketing, aviation connectivity, visa facilitation, sustainable tourism, climate resilience, digital transformation and artificial intelligence.
The emerging consensus was that African destinations should move away from viewing each other purely as competitors and instead package their diverse attractions into complementary regional experiences that can increase visitor arrivals, extend length of stay and boost tourism spending.
The CEOs roundtable was held under the theme “One Region, One Destination: Advancing Integrated and Sustainable Tourism Growth”.
In a presentation read on her behalf by Deputy Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Tongai Mnangagwa, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Barbara Rwodzi stated that African countries can no longer afford to market themselves in isolation.
“Tourism is no longer simply about attracting visitors to individual countries. It is about building competitive destinations, connected economies and compelling regional experiences,” said Minister Rwodzi.
“It is, therefore, imperative that the conversation today must go beyond individual country performance.
“As CEOs, you are deliberately expected to discuss ways of collectively building an African tourism industry that is more integrated, more competitive, more resilient and capable of capturing a greater share of global tourism flows.”
The collaborative approach presents significant economic opportunities for Zimbabwe and the wider region. Instead of tourists spending a limited number of days in one country, multi-destination tourism circuits can encourage visitors to stay longer and spend more across accommodation, aviation, road transport, restaurants, attractions, conferences, retail and other tourism-related services.
The opportunity for Zimbabwe lies in positioning destinations such as Victoria Falls, Hwange, Great Zimbabwe and Gonarezhou within broader regional itineraries incorporating attractions in Zambia, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Mozambique.
Minister Rwodzi said Africa needed to fundamentally change how it markets its tourism offering.
“Africa must move from selling destinations in isolation to selling African tourism experiences. A visitor coming to Africa should be able to experience several countries as part of one seamless journey — our wildlife, heritage, culture, gastronomy, adventure, business tourism, beaches, mountains, cities and communities.”
She said tourism leaders should strengthen cross-border products, regional circuits, joint marketing initiatives, shared events and coordinated destination promotion.
“Our borders should not become barriers to tourism. Instead, they should become gateways to multi-country African experiences,” said Minister Rwodzi.
“There is need to make it easier for an international traveller to visit Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Mozambique and beyond as one compelling African journey.
“This is the type of collaboration that can transform the continent’s tourism competitiveness.”
She said the Government was prepared to work with airlines, airports and the private sector to expand routes and strengthen intra-African connectivity.
“As Governments, we are prepared to work with airlines, airports and the private sector to expand air routes, increase frequencies, improve intra-African connections and strengthen access to key international markets,” she said.
“Every new route is a new gateway to tourism, investment and economic opportunity.”
The digital economy is also becoming increasingly important to the competitiveness of African destinations, as tourists increasingly discover, compare and book travel experiences online. “The modern tourist discovers destinations online, compares prices digitally, books accommodation through platforms, uses digital maps, reads reviews, consumes social media content and increasingly expects personalised travel experiences,” said Minister Rwodzi.
“We must, therefore, invest in the digital transformation of African tourism. And we must embrace artificial intelligence.”
Beyond tourism receipts, the collaborative approach could generate wider economic benefits through stronger linkages with aviation, transport, ICT (information and communication technology), energy, agriculture, infrastructure, culture, sport and the creative industries.
“We must also position tourism as a driver of broader economic transformation, recognising its linkages with aviation, transport, ICT, energy, agriculture, infrastructure, culture, sport and the creative industries,” said Minister Rwodzi.
“Our policy focus must, therefore, be on integration, investment, innovation and inclusion, creating an enabling environment for the private sector, empowering our youth, generating decent employment and enterprise opportunities, and ensuring that tourism delivers sustainable and inclusive economic growth across Africa.”
Zimbabwe Tourism Authority chief executive officer Dr George Manyaya said African destinations needed to work together despite competing for international tourists.
“From the presentations that we discussed, we have noted that we need each other,” he said.
“Yes, we have competition in terms of attractions, but we are not competitors. We need to market Africa to the world.”
He said collaboration could increase visitor spending by encouraging tourists to travel across several African destinations.
“For example, we increase the length of stay in Africa. The visitor tourists can arrive in Zimbabwe and also go to Botswana and also go to actually see other tourist attractions in Kenya, Zambia and South Africa,” said Dr Manyaya.
“Because we offer, and what we are offering might either be the same or slightly and widely different, we should collaborate. One thing that is very important is the authenticity and the authentic tourism product that we have in Africa. We must, therefore, collaborate so that we encourage our tourists to come.
Read more on: www.heraldonline.co.zw
“It is important that we market what we call ‘One Africa Tourism’ such that when we go out of the continent, we go as one brand.”
Dr Manyaya cited the upcoming Cricket World Cup as an example of how regional cooperation could be leveraged to market destinations collectively.
“The immediate example is the upcoming Cricket World Cup next year; Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe have signed a memorandum of understanding,” he said.
Such collaboration, he added, was at the heart of the CEOs roundtable, which brings together tourism industry leaders from across the region to explore practical mechanisms for integrated tourism development and marketing.
“This is the reason we are having this inaugural CEOs roundtable — so that we explore and come up with frameworks for marketing our destinations,” he said.
Dr Manyaya said African countries should present a united front when participating in international tourism fairs and road shows.
“When we go to international road shows, we go together as African countries,” he said.
The private sector is expected to be central to converting the collaborative agenda into commercially viable tourism products through joint investments, product development, marketing partnerships and multi-destination packages.
Dr Manyaya said the Government had already begun implementing the standardisation process.
“Well, if you remember, we held an all-stakeholders meeting in Harare and we resolved to send our inspectors to all the 10 provinces to check the state of all hospitality facilities, including lodges and Airbnbs,” he said.
“We first zero-graded them all and did a universal grading and standardisation.So, in that aspect, as regulator, we implemented as we push for the ‘One Africa’ tourism concept.”
Representing the Zambia Tourism Agency, Mr Davies Silungwe, said regional destinations should complement rather than undermine one another.
“What we are seeing here at Great Zimbabwe is proof that Africa is stronger together. Zambia, Zimbabwe and our neighbours share products, but we do not have to fight for the same tourist,” he said.
“We can create packages where a visitor lands in Lusaka, drives to Victoria Falls, crosses into Zimbabwe, and still has time for Hwange and Gonarezhou. That is how we win.”
He said cooperation should extend beyond destination marketing to visa facilitation, air connectivity and border efficiency.
This is particularly important because connectivity remains a key determinant of whether tourism demand translates into actual arrivals and expenditure.
For Zimbabwe, the public-private dialogue comes at a critical juncture as the country seeks to consolidate its position on the global tourism map and attract investment into accommodation, conferencing, transport, attractions and other tourism infrastructure.
However, stakeholders said stronger regional collaboration must be supported by a competitive and credible tourism product at home.
This has seen the Government respond to calls from hospitality industry players to standardise hotel grading against regional and international benchmarks — a move expected to strengthen consumer confidence and make Zimbabwe’s accommodation offering more comparable with competing destinations.
Africa Sun chief operations officer Ms Amanda Matema said consistent grading was essential to ensuring that tourists received comparable experiences across destinations.
“As hoteliers, we need standardisation in the grading of our hotels. For example, we know Holiday Inn is graded as a three-star hotel, and a visitor must have the same customer experience that they have in a hotel graded the same in Cape Town, Zambia or any part of the region,” said Ms Matema.
The move is expected to strengthen Zimbabwe’s tourism product while ensuring that local operators remain competitive as African destinations increasingly integrate their offerings.
The overarching message from Masvingo was that unlocking the continent’s tourism potential will require sustained cooperation between Governments, regulators and the private sector.
