Zim to promote religious tourism

Victoria Falls Reporter
THE country will be vigorous and step up efforts in advancing other forms of tourism that break traditional and colonial barriers to travel so that the country can fully benefit from global travellers, a Cabinet Minister said.
One such new product is religious travel in which the country has vast potential to benefit from more than 300 million travellers who are inspired by religious tourism.

This was said by the Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Engineer Walter Mzembi on the side- lines of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and World Travel Market (WTM) Ministers summit in London yesterday.

The summit which was held under the theme, bridging the gap between Tourism and Aviation policies, brought under one roof Ministers of Tourism from across the globe, aviation and tourism experts among others.

According to a press release from Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, Minister Mzembi, who is also the UNWTO chairperson of the Commission for Africa (CAF), while responding to critical issues raised during the policy deliberations around visa facilitation and tourism promotion, said Zimbabwe was already seized with this matter and the introduction of other tourism products would enhance seamless travel to the country.

“We must move away from traditional perceptions of strict border controls to a more liberalised regime of visa facilitation that supports travel. Consistent with the tradition of Zimbabwe as a Christian country, I remind everyone of Isaiah Chapter 60 verse 11, (therefore your gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day or night that men may bring to you the wealth of Gentiles, and their Kings in procession). This Bible reading inspires the direction we are now taking in terms of new products of which religious tourism is one of them”, said Minister Mzembi.

Apart from the visa regimes, the Ministers’ Summit, which was being led by the UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai, also discussed aviation policies, connectivity and taxation interrogating how these matters were affecting the growth and development of global tourism.