FINANCE and Economic Development Minister Patrick Chinamasa said Government is committed to supporting tourism in order to help the sector contribute effectively to the growth of the economy.
The tourism industry has in the past few years witnessed a decline in arrivals through negative publicity and perceptions fuelled by Western countries over the Land Reform and Resettlement Programme.
The negative reports in the international media claimed that Zimbabwe, previously known as ‘Africa’s Paradise’, was an unsafe destination. To counter the negative publicity, the country rebranded to ‘A World of Wonders’.
These current marketing efforts are paying off as the sector is now on the rebound.
Presently, the sector is contributing about 11 percent to Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Speaking during the official opening of the Sanganai/Hlanganani World Tourism Expo in Bulawayo last week, Minister Chinamasa said tourism is crucial in the economic matrix.
“Zimbabwe is a renowned tourist destination boasting many attractions including the Victoria Falls, the Eastern Highlands, Hwange National Park and Great Zimbabwe. Sadly, most visitors associate Zimbabwe’s tourism industry with the Victoria Falls alone. We would want to urge all visitors to explore other destinations, some I have mentioned.
“Essentially, despite boasting some of the most attractive tourist attractions in the world, Zimbabwe’s tourism industry has undervalued national tourism assets. This clearly demonstrates that in competitive global markets, Zimbabwe cannot afford to be caught flat-footed. We need to market the country in order to generate the required traffic.
“I have always been on record saying that appropriately packaging Zimbabwe as a tourist destination will go a long way in promoting the recovery of our economy.
“This therefore calls for aggressive marketing of Zimbabwe as a tourist destination. The country’s tourism marketing activities have, however, remained underfunded due to budgetary constraints.”
Minister Chinamasa revealed that his economic performance review showed that the sector is one which can generate quick wins.
“I highlighted in my 2016 economic performance review that tourism is a low hanging fruit that has the potential to generate quick wins for the country. However, investment in destination marketing is required in order to unlock the huge potential in the country’s tourism sector,” he said.
“Promoting responsible tourism will help stimulate demand for locally produced products while at the same time empowering local communities. Further, the industry has the potential to generate the much-needed foreign currency. However, there are leakages and lack of transparency in the accounting of the sector’s contribution to the country’s recovery efforts.
“We celebrate this development and remain optimistic that the sector will continue to regain its lost market share, while penetrating new markets. There is need for collaborative efforts in the marketing of Zimbabwe as an attractive tourism destination.
“I would like to urge the value chain players in the tourism sector to play their role in facilitating development in the country. Government is implementing initiatives to promote tourism in Zimbabwe.
“These include investing in supporting infrastructure, extending fiscal incentives to the industry, enacting the Special Economic Zones legislation, creating tourism development zones and budgetary support for destination marketing and promotion.”
Minister Chinamasa emphasised that the country’s open skies policy was meant to increase traffic into the country.
“We will have a campaign to all airlines so that we will grant free navigation and free landing rights to airlines as incentives to have the country go back to that status which it had in 1999. Many airlines have complained that our Jet fuel is very expensive and there is no reason it should be this way. We do not want excuses for not landing in Zimbabwe. We need to see what strategies to employ to bring in more visitors into the country. We will continuously review the visa policy and see which countries can be moved from Category C into B and others into A. We want the Chinese, Indian, Russian and African markets to come.”
Minister Chinamasa added that a revolving fund would be created to assist the industry.
“Industry lacks access to capital to develop the industry. We need to establish a tourism revolving fund so that industry can access loans at minimal rates. I commit myself to ensuring that you have a budget for this. If in the past we did not do it, it was because we did not understand you but now we do.”
Speaking during the small-to-medium entrepreneurs workshop, Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) marketing and corporate communications officer Doreen Dzamatira said exhibitors needed to maximise the opportunities presented by the travel bonanza.
“It takes 15 seconds to get the attention of the person passing by a stand and retain his/her attention. The exhibitors need to put their best foot forward hence they need to be innovative, impressive and inviting,” said Dzamatira.
“Exhibitors need to understand that such exhibitions as Sanganai are a long-term investment where profits will be recouped in the future. The organiser will bring visitors to the event but not to your stand, so you need to plan at least 15 percent of your marketing budget to promoting your presence at the show.”
Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA)’s chief executive officer Karikoga Kaseke said the authority this year targeted three markets.
“China is currently rated the highest spender and we have not done much to take advantage of the Look East Policy. We need to do as much as we can to tap into this market because we are currently only receiving just 60 000 visitors when our neighbour, South Africa, receives 130 000 which is why we targeted Russia, China and South Africa as markets,” Kaseke said.
“Year 1999 tourist arrival figures are still higher than the current figures. The Finance Minister’s remarks were refreshing and if implemented, the tourism sector will not be the same again. The ‘Visit Zimbabwe’ campaign for China and Russia will help grow our tourist arrivals.
“We need to make sure that the tourism revolving fund is funded. Our people have no access to the dollar yet industry argues about market forces. Our people feel the pinch and not many have disposable income”
Maureen Vere of Rural Women Advancement Trust (RWAT) representative said the tourism expo helped market the country’s doily culture which has been on the wane.
“RWAT helps women in the doily industry to make a living out of the doilies. There are different patterns exhibited and we cannot let this culture die. We call these products 100 percent homegrown as they are not only grown here but processed and handmade here as well.
“The doily industry has created employment and is one industry that has kept the cotton industry alive. Instead of going to international fairs like we used to, we have established a doily fair locally to allow international visitors to come and appreciate our products while at the same time bringing in the much needed foreign currency,” she said.
First-time exhibitor Tourafrican Safaris’ managing director Robbie Kamba said participation was essential to growth.
“The exhibition was an eye-opener as it helped give exposure to the company and we managed to get business we would not have otherwise gotten had we not attended,” Kamba said.
This year’s Sanganai saw 340 exhibitors, 224 buyers and 24 media houses being part of the expo.