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Leonard Ncube, in Victoria Falls
THE country should upgrade its sporting facilities to attract major international events and promote sport tourism, the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority has said.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Econet Victoria Falls Marathon here on Sunday, ZTA chief operating officer Givemore Chidzidzi said Zimbabwe had the capacity to host different big sporting events.
He said development of sporting facilities will not only develop sport itself, but also translate to economic prosperity.
“What we are really looking at is harnessing the power of sport to develop tourism. We have capacity to host bigger events, but we are limited by certain demands in terms of support infrastructure,” said Chidzidzi.
He said the marathon, which attracted more than 4 000 runners, was a crowd puller and should be vigorously marketed.
“When we talk of sport tourism, we are talking of travel motivated by either wanting to participate in sport or to watch a sporting discipline. We are seeing this at the Soccer World Cup in Russia where there is an influx of visitors, who happen to be fans. It’s either someone is actively participating, watching or organising and all that results in traffic, which then demands on the industry in terms of transport, transfers, accommodation and catering.
“All accommodation was taken up for the weekend and activities were fully booked above capacity here in Victoria Falls. Visitors, both local and international are spending on their activities, night life, food and souvenirs and all this translates to economic activity, receipts and jobs as well as stimulate development because it can increase demand,” Chidzidzi said.
He said with proper facilities, the country could host more events in a year.
“We want to see sporting activities throughout the year. There used to be a rafting challenge, which we want back. Recently there was the PPC Matopos Marathon and there is also the Tanganda Marathon and such events should be marketed and promoted internationally so that we push our sport tourism.”
Runners at the marathon were drawn from over 40 countries.
Victoria Falls mayor Sifiso Mpofu said the marathon puts Victoria Falls and country on the world map.
“Sport is a vital tool of unifying people and a platform for both local and international runners to compete against the best. Victoria Falls couldn’t be a better place without this marathon, which bodes well with the Victoria Falls Municipality thrust and vision to be a natural, competitive tourism destination through promotion of sports, fun, tourism, financial and medical centre,” Mpofu said.
The marathon will this year donate to two charities in the resort town.
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