More animals for Chinhoyi Caves

THE Parks and Wildlife Management Authority is set to introduce more wildlife at Chinhoyi Caves to broaden activities at the tourist attraction.

This comes as the caves have emerged as the second major attraction after the rainforest in Victoria Falls.

In an interview on the sidelines of the Madrid International Tourism Fair (FITUR 2019) in Spain recently, Parks deputy director-general Mr George Manyumwa said the organisation wanted to make the Chinhoyi Caves an all-inclusive amusement park.

“When it comes to inflows, Chinhoyi Caves comes second to the Rainforest in Victoria Falls and what we want to do is put quite a lot of activities there,” he said. “We have put lions there to make sure that children learn more about them through educational trips.”

The Chinhoyi Caves grounds are also undergoing a major facelift to allow the hosting of weddings and other outdoor activities.

The authority is set to add two more lions following the introduction of two others at the end of 2018 to broaden the scope of activities at the caves.

Vice President Kembo Mohadi launched the Lions Enclosure at the caves to help diversify the product.

Meanwhile, the Parks and Wildlife Management stand attracted interest from potential visitors who wanted camping and nature accommodation, including houseboats and lodges.

Mr Manyumwa said: “We got quite a lot in terms of our camping and lodges for accommodation. Enquiries centred on Victoria Falls, especially the rainforest, Mana Pools, Matopos and Hwange National Park because of the Big Five.”

He said there was scope for private sector involvement in activities to market the country, including tourism fairs.

Mr Manyumwa, whose organisation was exhibiting at the Madrid Fair for the first time, said the parks authority got numerous enquiries on their products.

Government views the growth of tourism as a low hanging fruit that could help in turning the country into an upper middle class economy by 2030.