Bulawayo tourism anchors on domestic visits
BULAWAYO’s tourism industry was this year predominantly anchored on domestic tourism with the city recording 86 percent of local tourists and 14 percent of international tourist arrivals between January and September.
In a speech read on her behalf by Mr Paul Nyoni, the Secretary for Bulawayo Provincial Affairs and Devolution during the launch of the festive domestic tourism campaign in Bulawayo last week, Bulawayo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Judith Ncube said the tourism sector contributed significantly to the metropolitan province’s gross domestic product (GDP).
She said Bulawayo, which is home to the Natural History Museum and surrounded by Matopos National Park and cultural and historical heritage sites such as Khami Monuments, offers a complete tourism package.
“In 2023, between January and September, official statistics revealed that tourism in Bulawayo is anchored predominantly on domestic tourism, with a clientele mix of 86 percent of locals and 14 percent of foreigners,” said Minister Ncube.
“Bulawayo is second after Harare in terms of both number of hotels and room capacity, with 21 hotels and 1012 room capacity, which is a reflection of its potential to benefit from domestic tourism if fully embraced and harnessed.”
Minister Ncube said if the tourism sector is to unlock its full potential, it can contribute meaningfully towards the country’s economic growth and development, with domestic tourism playing a critical role.
Last week the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry, in conjunction with the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA), launched the Festive Season Domestic Campaign-ZIMBHO for Bulawayo province during which the need to improve tourism infrastructure in the city came under the spotlight.
The campaign, which runs from November 6 to January 15, 2024, under the theme: “Every journey leads you home,” is aimed at encouraging locals to visit the country’s tourist destinations this festive season.
Dubbed #Uripi, the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry and ZTA are on a drive to encourage locals to sample the various tourism products offered by tourism players at the different tourists’ destinations across the country.
The campaign comes at a time when the country has recorded a significant rise in foreign receipts, but lagging on the domestic front.
Minister Ncube said there is therefore a need to boost domestic tourism to complement what is being earned from international tourists.
As part of the campaign, service providers and prime tourist destinations are being encouraged to offer bargain packages for local visitors.
The favourable pricing models are expected to nudge Zimbabweans towards tourist destinations they have long felt are out of their financial reach.
Minister Ncube said if properly harnessed, tourism alone can contribute immensely to the economic development of the Bulawayo province.
She said the province is endowed with a rich culture and has earned its position as the country’s historical and cultural capital.
“Its diversity is also in the wide range of leisure and recreational activities it has to offer from sports facilities, cultural centres, art and crafts, nature reserves, and its proximity to some of the most sensational national tourist attractions such as Matopo hills, Chipangali wildlife orphanage, Khami Monument, Umguza Nature hills, Victoria Falls and Hwange National Park,” said Minister Ncube.
Following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the tourism sector is one of the hardest-hit economic sectors globally as countries imposed national lockdowns and travel restrictions to contain the health crisis.
In 2020, President Mnangagwa launched the National Tourism Recovery and Growth Strategy anchored on Zimbabwe’s vision to be a prime international tourist destination based on the judicious and sustainable exploitation of the unique assets of nature, culture, heritage and the built environment.
The strategy is informed by the Government’s Vision 2030 to become an upper middle-income economy characterised by increased investment and decent jobs.
The high growth target of this strategy seeks to achieve a US$5 billion tourism economy. —chronicle
