‘Zim tourism on the rebound’
LOCAL tourism is now recovering following the relaxation of restrictions the Government had put in place to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
Tourism and Hospitality Industry Permanent Secretary Mr Munesu Munodawafa told The Sunday Mail Business in an interview in Dubai last week that although tourism, which is the country’s third-largest sector after agriculture and mining, had been hardest hit by the pandemic due to reduction in international travel, the recent recovery was encouraging.
“When the Government then made a decision to relax a couple of months back, what we saw is that there are more meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) taking place.
“Practically, all the hotels are at very good numbers now; some are actually full until the end of the year and to us that is exciting, but we also take that excitement with full knowledge that this is recovery rather than growth,” he said.
Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) data shows that tourist arrivals markedly declined to 65 882 in the January to March period this year from 639 356 in the same period a year ago.
According to Mr Munodawafa, since local tourism was wildlife-based, it was encouraging that disruptions caused by the coronavirus had allowed nature to restore itself away from the public glare.
Mr Munodawafa was part of several senior Government officials, led by Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, who visited Dubai last week to evaluate Zimbabwe’s readiness for Expo 2020 Dubai.
Other officials included Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube, Industry and Commerce Minister Dr Sekai Nzenza, Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Minister Dr Anxious Masuka and Tourism and Hospitality Minister Mangaliso Ndlovu.
Commenting on Zimbabwe’s participation at Expo 2020 Dubai, which started on October 1, 2021 and runs until March 31, 2022, he said the country was particularly promoting tourism.
“In other words, to attract traffic, not from the UAE alone, but from the region — the Middle East region — because it is one region that has high net-worth spenders, but it is also a region that is unique in terms of socio, cultural and religious expectations,” Mr Munodawafa said.
Zimbabwe has already started working on remodelling its packages to suit the taste and expectations of visitors from the Middle East region, which is predominantly Islamic.
The fact that the country had already started engagements with and hearing what the market required, he added, improved the country’s preparedness to exploit opportunities in the market.
In Dubai, Zimbabwe is also focusing on investment promotion.
“These are high-net-worth spenders, but because of socio, cultural and religious issues, we acknowledge the current hotels are not suited to what they want. So our vision, focus and thrust, now that we are here, is to attract investment that is suitable to them,” he said.
“And there is no better region to give us that investment than this region, so that is why we are here. And for that reason, as we seek to promote tourism, we are already working on dates to invite a number of tour operators from this region to come to Zimbabwe and sample the products we have.
“We know it’s an area that is fascinated about wildlife, which we have in abundance. So we want them to come, we want them to experience the wildlife, we want them to experience the rest of the country.”
Zimbabwe will seek investment in tourism facilities, specifically in health tourism, because of its hospitable weather.
First-hand experience by tour operators from the Middle East will help in marketing the destination.
“So, we are working on hosting an exhibition-cum-workshop; investment conference in March 2022. Tentatively, the dates are now set for March 6-8 right here at Expo 2020.”
The country would have the opportunity “just to explain to a captive audience” what Zimbabwe has to offer.
The Government is confident that by then it would have made some progress on discussions it would be having with potential investors from the Middle East.
The UAE expects more than 25 million visitors to arrive in Dubai during the six-month long Expo 2020 Dubai, the largest exhibition ever to be hosted in Africa, South East Asia and the Middle East.
The expo was initially scheduled to be held in 2020, but was pushed back to 2021 due to the pandemic.