Chronicle Editor
Nokuthaba Brita Ncube, [email protected]
THE Zimbabwe National Defence University (ZNDU) is working closely with the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) to unlock more business opportunities in the sector with a focus on transforming livelihoods.
On Friday the ZNDU held a Tourism Indaba in Bulawayo under the theme: “Maintaining economic stability in a hostile environment”, after completing a domestic study tour around the city.
The event was attended by senior ZNDU staff, ZTA officials and other key stakeholders including representatives from the Airports Company of Zimbabwe, Air Zimbabwe, Tourism Business Council of Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority.
Foreign delegates from Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, South Africa, Botswana, Tanzania and Zambia Defence Forces also attended.
In his remarks ZTA acting chief executive, Mr William Stima, said tourism was one of the key economic pillars that include agriculture, manufacturing and mining.
The sector is a major foreign currency earner which however is on a growth recovery as evidenced by the increase in arrivals from all major markets, which reached 1,6 million in 2023.
Despite the operating challenges, Mr Stima said the tourism industry has demonstrated high levels of resilience as it has managed to implement a number of development projects and adopted initiatives that include digital marketing while embracing green campaigns meant to promote domestic tourism, among others.
Representing the ZNDU, one of the senior staffers, Lindiwe Ngwenya, emphasised the need for stakeholders to collaborate with ZTA to scale up destination marketing and grow the country’s profile.
Kenya Defence Forces participant, Colonel Patrick Toskin acknowledged that the tourist destinations in Zimbabwe were very rich.
“This domestic study tour revealed that Zimbabwe has hidden treasures and there is a need to harness them to drive economic stability,” he said.
The tourism sector in Zimbabwe is considered one of the economic mainstays and is expected to drive the country’s economic turnaround.
The sector is estimated to contribute about 5,7 percent to Gross Domestic Product(GDP) and about 3,5 percent to the national employment.
The Government recently deployed tourism attaches to key source markets including South Africa whose role is to promote the destination and forge new partnerships in those areas.
Developing the tourism sector into a US$5 billion industry by the end of next year is in line with the national vision of Zimbabwe becoming an upper middle-income society by 2030.
President Mnangagwa launched the ambitious tourism growth plan in August 2020 as he led the restart of the sector’s contribution to the national economy after having been heavily crippled by the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The National Tourism Recovery and Growth Strategy is anchored on Zimbabwe’s vision to be a prime international tourist destination based on the judicious and sustainable exploitation of the unique assets of nature, culture, heritage and the built environment.
The strategy is informed by the Government’s Vision 2030 to become an upper-middle-income economy characterised by increased investment, decent jobs and a population free from poverty and corruption.
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