Rural service centres poised for tourism growth
Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Nqobizitha Mangaliso Ndhlovu on Monday urged Zimbabweans at home and abroad to take up investment opportunities in rural service centers and position themselves for imminent growth and development.
Speaking at the the World Tourism Day Celebrations at Chinhoyi University of Technology, the Minister said Government has begun to work on the identified nodes that will drive the growth of the tourism sector.
These include the approval of the Victoria Falls-Binga Special Economic Zone by Cabinet, which will see ten nodes in this Special Economic Zone developed.
Government is also scaling up development of integrated tourism resort in the Masuwe area, a new resort in Binga and an eco-tourism park in Sijarira Forest.
The proposed development in Binga includes the upgrading of the airport to improve accessibility in this resort.
“In addition, a new tourism resort will be opened in the Batoka area, where Government has since demarcated land for tourism development in addition to plans for establishing a new hydropower station,” Ndhlovu said.
He also urged enhanced collaboration between the public and private sector to stimulate travel demand in the local, regional and international source markets.
The World Tourism Day celebrations which were held under the theme Tourism and Rural Development afforded academics at Chinhoyi University of Technology an opportunity to also add to the national tourism discourse through candid and robust research papers.
Ndhlovu assured the academic community that their presentations will go a long way in informing innovative policy ideas and solutions for the betterment of the tourism industry.
Most tourism players throughout the country have now re-opened their facilities in strict compliance with the Covid-19 Health Protocols.
“While initial assessments we have carried out through the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority indicate that occupancy rates in most hotels are still low, I remain hopeful that the situation will improve and the numbers will pick up.
“In this regard I urge the players in the sector to come up with tourism packages that are affordable to the locals and tap into the domestic market which is ranging between 10 and 15 percent, with most resort hotels still to pick up due to subdued demand.”
Prospects for a rebound are in the horizon given the decision by Government to allow intercity travel to resume.
“We are also encouraged by the opening of domestic and international flights so we expect to see a gradual improvement in hotel occupancies going forward,” Ndhlovu said.
