City status to unlock wider opportunities for Victoria Falls

THE granting of city status to the Victoria Falls Town is set to unlock wider tourism and investment opportunities that would transform Zimbabwe’s prime resort town into a preferred world destination.

Victoria Falls enjoys a unique environment comprising natural vegetation and wildlife, and the conferment of city status will boost confidence among businesses and travellers.

Over the years tourism agents have been marketing the Falls as if they were located in South Africa or Zambia because the Victoria Falls town was “little known”.

Victoria Falls competes with Cape Town in terms of population of hotels but has been lagging behind in terms of arrivals and activities.

The Victoria Falls Municipality believes that once it becomes a city, the resort town will be more competitive to attract travelers from every corner of the world.

“There are mixed reactions about the city status with a majority of people excited while a few sections still don’t understand what it means. This is a welcome development and we are only waiting for pronouncement by the President,” Victoria Falls Mayor, Councillor Somvelo Dlamini, said.

“Remember tourism is a competition. When tourists go on-line, they search for cities and as such South Africa and Zambia were marketing Victoria Falls as theirs and have been benefitting at our expense.

“The city status will clear misconceptions and boost tourism arrivals and investment opportunities for us as a city.”

Hopes are high that once the town develops into a city, new jobs will be created, which will help improve the city’s Gross Domestic Product. A number of developments are already taking place in Victoria Falls among them the recent launch of the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange, plans for Masue Town, Batoka Town, a convention centre and other projects. There is also a state-of-the-art airport making Victoria Falls well positioned for significant growth.

“It’s unfortunate that business was hard hit by Covid-19 but this will restore investor confidence. I am quite sure Victoria Falls will be one of the first cities to attain Vision 2030 even before the targeted year.

“What’s needed now is all stakeholders including tourism companies, Zimbabwe Tourism Authority and Government to work hand in glove with the local authority to market the destination,” added Cllr Dlamini.

Victoria Falls Town Clerk Mr Ronnie Dube concurred saying the end the town upgrade would bring more opportunities for tourism and wider business.

“There will be quality jobs, which will make Victoria Falls compete with other tourism destinations in the world. This is what we want, to make Victoria Falls a quality tourism destination,” he said.

The council is making preparations for official conferment, which is expected this week. —chronicle.fo.zw