‘Zim still a sought-after destination’
ZIMBABWE remains an attractive tourist destination that the travel world cannot do without, Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) acting chief executive Mr Givemore Chidzidzi has said.
Speaking at the recently concluded World Travel Market (WTM) in London, Mr Chidzidzi said the interest on Zimbabwe was very high from across the globe when they package Africa in general and southern Africa in particular.
“At WTM, you have got buyers coming from Asia, coming from the Americas, the Pacific, Australia, Europe and the UK has a home ground advantage,” he said.
“Thus most of the inquiries will be coming from operators and wholesalers from within the UK. What is evident is that Zimbabwe remains a very much-sought after destination, especially following the awards that we have been receiving in the past year to two years where Zimbabwe has been billed to be a must-visit destination, one of the top 10 must-visit destinations by the likes of Lonely Planet, National Geographic, The Telegraph and so on.
“We are seeing positive responses towards that. The inquiries we have been having now for conferences, group tours or the FITs what are normally referred to as Free Independent Travellers for some doing inclusive tours (are many).”
Mr Chidzidzi said since the coming in of the Second Republic, the tourism sector had been looking up. “We have inquiries coming from all facets of tourism and obviously the interest from people who are doing social media; a lot of bloggers, a lot of photo journalists wanting now to come to Zimbabwe and even the big media houses wanting to now try and showcase Zimbabwe, is amazing,” he said.
“I can say we seem to have turned around the bend.”
Mr Chidzidzi congratulated the WTM organisers on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of one of the leading world travel shows.
“We started exhibiting at WTM and at ITB just after Independence as the major travel shows,” he said.
ZIMBABWE has the second- largest high- grade chromium deposits in the world behind South Africa, with reserves of around 10 billion tonnes and in recent years, many farmers in chrome-rich areas such as the Midlands Province have abandoned farming and converted their farms into mines.
But not all.
In a farming area about 70km from Kwekwe and 50km from Mvuma where many farms are now active mining areas, there is the 120-hectare Mahamara Farm run by Mr John Muchenje (34).
While his peers jumped ship, Mr Muchenje, a beneficiary of the land reform programme, decided to stick to farming and make the most of it.
He does not regret his decision as he is now the success story of the land reform programme.
He has recorded success in tobacco and maize production.
Last season he delivered 100 tonnes of maize to GMB and sold 140 tobacco bales.
He also had soya beans, and has already planted maize and cabbages. He has managed to employ 40 people and to build a decent home.
But why farming?
“A lot of youths around me are into mining, but I chose farming because I feel I have a part to play in ensuring food security in the country,” said Mr Muchenje.
“Our nation needs to be fed and I feel as a young person I have an obligation to ensure that I play my part to the best of my ability to provide food for the nation.
“Secondly, Zimbabwe is an agro-based economy, which means our economy relies
Manicaland Bureau
ZIMBABWEAN businesses must be more creative in coming up with new ideas that can empower locals and enhance the successful implementation of indigenisation and economic empowerment policies to attract new investments.
This came up during a breakfast meeting hosted by Zanu-PF for the business community here to consult on how the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act should be aligned with Vision 2030 and other policies.
Speaking at the meeting, Lessafre Zimbabwe director Mr Mike Nyabadza said business ownership was important to economically empower the nation.
“With ownership, you have the power to on agriculture, hence I also need to play a role in the development of this country.
“Thirdly, I met His Excellency Cde ED Mnangagwa in 2016 after touring his farm in Sherwood, he challenged me to do commercial farming so that I contribute directly to the growth of the economy.
“I accepted the challenge so that I could show him that I am up to the challenge.”
Mr Muchenje said he also derives his passion for farming from his late father Francis, a war veteran who died in 2007 and his mother Sekai, a war collaborator and farmer who all wanted to see a free and socio-economically growing Zimbabwe.
“I was encouraged to take up farming by my parents who always urged me to make use of the land,” he said.
“My mother studied agriculture and has been very supportive of the Agrarian Reform and Command Agriculture.
“I have managed to create employment for 40 men and women. Farming has positively affected my area in that there is now