Online Reporter
Rutendo Nyeve,Victoria Falls Reporter
SENIOR military personnel from across Africa have hailed Zimbabwe as a premier tourism destination, urging the country’s tourism authorities to intensify international marketing to showcase its vast potential.
The officials, who are part of a group of international students at the Zimbabwe National Defence University (ZNDU), concluded a comprehensive domestic study tour with a Tourism Indaba held in Victoria Falls last week.
The students, comprising senior army officers from various African nations, have been touring multiple regions of Zimbabwe as part of their academic curriculum, which is themed: Surviving in an Unstable Macroeconomic Environment.
The tour was designed to provide a holistic understanding of the nation’s socio-economic and security landscape.
The message from the foreign delegates, however, was one of immense admiration for the country’s untapped tourism appeal.
Many expressed that their firsthand experience had shattered preconceived notions largely shaped by negative international narratives.
In an interview, Nigeria Navy Captain Edward Iyaji shared his unexpectedly positive impressions.
“So far it has been an amazing experience to be in Zimbabwe and then to be able to see so much. I also think that Zimbabwe will also be doing well if it tries to project what is going on within the country to the outside world.
“For me personally, I really did not expect to see so much that I have seen. You know, the issues of the sanctions and all the other issues that has always been the people’s power side. But in all honesty, I think Zimbabwe is doing extremely well and there is so much for the world to see in Zimbabwe,” said Captain Iyaji.
Captain Iyaji specifically identified tourism as a key economic driver.
“More should be done to project the tourism sector in Zimbabwe and I think for the tourism sector, it is the money-spinning sector. I think I personally would encourage the Zimbabwe tourism authorities to do more. Sending out information to the outside world,” he said.
Echoing this sentiment, his compatriot, Nigerian Captain (Navy) Paulinus Nuuyoma, described Zimbabwe as a beacon in the whole of Africa.
“Whoever said visit and experience really meant it. So what we have here is not really what we said. Zimbabwe has so much to offer and I think that in an African context, us the outsiders do not really know what is happening in Zimbabwe. There is a lot of improvement in Zimbabwe. It is really impressive, very, very much impressive,” he said.
He also highlighted the country’s welcoming nature and endorsed a recent international accolade.
“Zimbabwe is very welcoming. When you are in Zimbabwe, you feel at home and I think when Forbes magazine decided to say that Zimbabwe is a country to be visited in 2025, they were right to say that. So it has quite a lot to offer,” he said.
The study tour, which began in Harare on 19 October, was not solely focused on tourism.
According to Brig Gen Lindiwe Ngwenya, the Senior Directing Staff for Term 1, the delegation visited a wide range of sectors to understand the fabric of the nation and its security dynamics.
“We touch a lot of areas. We touch farming, we touch mining, we go to traditional chiefs, we go to local authorities, we go to museums and monuments because all those things form part of what Zimbabwe is and they form part of national security,” said Brig Gen Ngwenya.
She directly linked this broad exploration to the tourism economy.
“Remember, when you are going to the airport, you are also partly a tourist, whether you are going for business or not everybody is part of tourism and tourism is part of the economic activity. That is why we request them to organise this in Zimbabwe,” she said.
