THE recent launch of the new National Tourism Policy by the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry is expected help achieve the US$5 billion target by year 2020.
In a country that is on the road to economic recovery, the goal of the policy to open up new tourism opportunities and develop new products like cultural, domestic, culinary and medical tourism, mega events, religious tourism and heritage-based tourism and school tourism will be achieved.
According to the Ministry, this new tourism policy is also expected to provide mechanisms for easy entry into the sector by all sections of society, especially women and youths, at the same time promoting Zimbabwe in non-traditional markets like in the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa).
The accolades the country has earned such as the conferment of the World’s Best Tourism Destination for 2014 by the European Council for Travel and Trade and the successful co-hosting of the 20th Session of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) General Assembly with Zambia will also help boost the country’s tourism industry.
All these efforts come after Zimbabwe suffered immensely from the illegal sanctions imposed by the West and its allies after the country embarked on the highly successful Land Reform Programme.
The numerous attempts to put travel bans on European tourists travelling to Zimbabwe also affected the country’s tourism sector.
However, Government embarked on many projects, among them, re-branding Zimbabwe as ‘A World of Wonders’ and such concepts as religious tourism have helped put the tourism industry on the road to recovery.
Religious tourism today moves some 300 million international tourists out of the world’s total 1,1 billion travellers. The figures at domestic level are believed to be over 2 billion of the world’s 4,5 to 5 billion domestic travellers.
The provisions of Statutory Instruments 172 and 173 dealing with duty-free capital goods and Motor Vehicle Importations to the church and its sector have also assisted in boosting the tourism sector.
As a result of all those efforts, Zimbabwe is currently receiving about US$1 billion from 1,872 million arrivals.
With the paltry 3 800 to 5 500 visitors to Zimbabwe in 2013 compared to the regional average of 80 000 to 150 000, this should be a sign that Zimbabwe can tap much more into this huge figure.
Speaking during the launch of the tourism policy a few weeks ago, Vice-President Joice Mujuru said Government identified tourism as one of the key contributors to the success of the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation Zim-ASSET.
“The launch of the Tourism Policy is a significant development given that the tourism sector has been identified as one of the major drivers of economic growth under the cluster based Zim-ASSET,” VP Mujuru said.
“I have no doubt that this National Tourism Policy will be a compass to guide us to lay a solid foundation for the sustainable development of tourism in Zimbabwe. “This is our Zimbabwe, truly a World of Wonders.”
Also speaking on the tourism policy, the Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Engineer Walter Mzembi said his dream is to exploit all possible avenues in order to achieve a US$5 billion tourism economy in Zimbabwe by 2020.
“My dream is to achieve a US$5 billion tourism economy in Zimbabwe by 2020, in line with our Vision 2020 and implemented within the context of Zim-ASSET,” he said.
“This dream is as big as the current size of our total annual country budget of US$4,4 billion as presented by the Minister of Finance on December 20 2013.
“Our tourism performance shall henceforth be set at 30 percent of the performance of the Republic of South Africa tourism economy.
“Currently the Republic of South Africa tourism economy’s turning over is at US$12 billion from 10 million arrivals per annum.
“By 2020, we forecast the Republic of South Africa tourism economy to be exceeding US$16 billion based on their current growth strategies.
“We need to interrogate why at the least 30 percent of the Republic of South Africa’s bona fide 9,9 million international tourists do not take the extension to visit what used to be the 10th tourism province.”
Historically, apartheid South Africa and Rhodesia had a closer tourism relationship between its white citizens than independent Republic South Africa and Zimbabwe today. Even in the thick of the war, tourists would be escorted to Rhodesia and Lourenco Marques now Maputo for a holiday.
Perhaps addressing the lack of a tourist visa, an unnecessary transit visa, poor product offerings and their pricing or brand perceptional would provide a brilliant opportunity to increase Zimbabwe’s tourist arrivals.
Mzembi said reviewing ‘Brand Zimbabwe’ would also help achieve the intended goal.
“An absolute review of Brand Zimbabwe appears to be the action required in this market,” he said.
“We are fighting daily perceptional issues we either sponsor ourselves, through political rhetoric or self hate speech through social media by the Diaspora and our national daily papers that are informing opinion on Brand Zimbabwe.
“We need to reaffirm our respect for property rights in the country and package and interpret for daily use our investment code which should be readily available in all forms, print and electronic included without having to be constantly amplified, reinforced or corrected through political voices.
“We must redesignate the entire country as a ‘Tourism Development Zone’ by stimulating local interest and demand in tourism through carefully thought out and designed products.”
Meanwhile, Celebration Centre was accorded the Religious Tourism Facility status as part of efforts to promote religious tourism.
It becomes the second religious facility to be accorded such a status after the Zion Christian Church in Mbungu, Masvingo.