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Judith Phiri, Business Reporter
THE Gwanda community has taken advantage of a luxury tourist train that makes a weekly stopover in the town, to promote domestic tourism as well as showcase the rich culture of the rainbow province.
The luxury Rovos train which ferries tourists from Pretoria, South Africa to Victoria Falls every Friday has of late been making a two-hour-long stopover in Gwanda town to allow its guests to take a break from the long journey.
The Rovos train resumed its trips in February after it had been put on hold for a while due to the Covid-19 pandemic travel and movement restrictions that were put in place to contain the rapid spread of the disease nationwide.
The Gwanda Cultural Artifacts Association, National Arts Council of Zimbabwe and the Municipality of Gwanda have taken advantage of the opportunity to showcase the town’s investment potential as well as to promote domestic tourism.
In an interview, Gwanda Cultural Artifacts Association founder and chairman, Mr Raymond Mauba said: “We commend the Government for lifting restrictions on non-essential travel through land borders.
This has seen the resumption of the Rovos train trips which leave South Africa on Wednesdays and stopover in Gwanda on Fridays weekly.”
He said rapport that has been established by the management of the train and the town will in the near future see the establishment of a cultural village so that tourists are offered more products.
Mr Mauba said the train which used to carry close to 200 tourists was travelling with close to 100 tourists who come from countries that include UK, Poland, Germany, France and South Africa who say the peace and warmth of the people of Gwanda speaks volume of how Zimbabweans are hospitable.
“During the stopover the tourists buy various art pieces and crafts ware here in Gwanda as they are much cheaper as compared to Victoria Falls.
Various crafts are displayed by various craftsmen, women and youths, while some of them coming as far as from Bulawayo.
Among other activities various performances are done by traditional dance groups and poets showcasing their talents.”
Mr Mauba said as players in the tourism industry in Gwanda they were working on developing more unique packages and attractions for the tourists.
He said the city had a lot to offer in terms of agriculture and mining activities that can be exploited and fitted into the tourism value chain dynamic growth.
“We also appreciate the efforts being done by the Rovos train management as most of the train staff are locals from here in Zimbabwe who understand and appreciate the cultural diversity of our country.
To develop that further we are working on putting structures here in Gwanda that offer very unique things to the tourists.”
Since its establishment in 1989, Rovos Rail has earned an international reputation for its truly world-class travel experiences.
In a series of bespoke train journeys lasting from 48 hours to 15 days, Rovos Rail links some of the continent’s greatest destinations with a variety of off-train excursions.
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