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ZTA head of public relations and corporate communications Mr Sugar Chagonda said they would work closely with stakeholders in the tourism industry to review the marketing strategy.
“Over the years, our efforts were mainly based on marketing the country’s tourism beyond our borders. As we review the domestic tourism marketing strategy, we need to work closely with players in the sector to address the challenges in domestic tourism so as to boost the sector,” he said.
He said funding was one of the major constraints stifling growth and development of the local tourism industry.
Mr Chagonda said it was critical for the local banking sector to avail financial resources aimed at developing the tourism industry.
“To address some of the challenges in domestic tourism, we would encourage players in the sector to come up with incentives that will motivate the local people to visit resort centres.”
He said local people had over the years shunned domestic tourism because of pricing concerns.
“Most people are saying the rates being charged by players in the tourism industry are not attractive as they are too high.
“However, the issue of pricing takes into cognisance the law of supply and demand. And sometimes, it may be difficult for us to address the pricing challenge to promote domestic tourism,” he said.
Zimbabwe has a wealth of attractions and boasts significant tourist charm with natural endowments such as the world-famous Victoria Falls.
Due to its beautiful scenery, the country has been selected as the ideal African venue for the filming of a tourism documentary in Victoria Falls by a German television station, Redseven.
The filming of the documentary dubbed The Million Dollar Model started over the weekend and is expected to end before the end of the month.
The reality documentary will be aired on Redseven TV beginning from September, and has over five million viewers in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. It is hoped that the documentary would also market Zimbabwe as a destination.
Online Reporter