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The Government of Zimbabwe, through the Ministry of Environment, Climate, Tourism, and Hospitality Industry today hosted the Visit Zimbabwe Tourism and Investment Conference on the sidelines of the world-acclaimed Dubai Expo 2020.
In her keynote address during the launch, the Deputy Minister of Environment, Climate, Tourism, and Hospitality industry, Hon. Barbra Rwodzi said since the beginning of Dubai Expo 2020, over 165 000 visitors have come through to the Zimbabwe Pavilion.
“These numbers attest to the immense potential the Expo has to restore Destination Zimbabwe and boost its tourism, trade, and investment. Your Excellency Ambassador Mazemo and Commissioner General Mubi, the thrust and intention of the Visit Zimbabwe Tourism and Investment Conference that we are hosting today is to further complement your efforts in exposing the gem called Zimbabwe to the world. Undoubtedly, your team has so far done very well in positioning Zimbabwe as a land of great opportunities. We need to keep up the momentum,” Hon. Rwodzi said.
She said in line with the strategic intent of the National Tourism Recovery and Growth Strategy, Zimbabwe has hosted the Conference and Exhibition to share the numerous attractions that Zimbabwe offers in the tourism sector. She made a clarion call for investments in hospitality accommodation, conference facilities, theme parks, upmarket restaurants among other investments.
The deputy minister highlighted that Zimbabwe is a beautiful, well-resourced country strategically located in Southern Africa, making it a natural transport, tourism, and trade hub. In that sense, Zimbabwe is indeed a land of opportunities.
The country has in the last couple of years witnessed unprecedented construction of strategic infrastructure to the magnitude never experienced since its 40 years of Independence.
Zimbabwe is home to the “Big Five” animals and is one of the few countries where one can encounter all the five in their natural setting, within just one hour of game drive. Besides the “big five,” it also hosts numerous other games in their numbers. It boasts of a very diverse array of wildlife which elsewhere would be a source of envy.
“The fact that we have a healthy thriving and expanding wildlife sector is not by coincidence. Zimbabwe has invested a lot in the protection of our flora and fauna. Further, we continuously and scientifically manage our wildlife species, which has seen species whose numbers are reducing elsewhere, like elephants, rhinos, giraffes, leopards, and many others, actually increasing in Zimbabwe. It is therefore natural that our tourism is largely wildlife-based. In this context, may it be noted that Zimbabwe has reserved 13% of the country for National Parks while in all 25% of Zimbabwe is considered protected land encompassing also State Forests,” Minister Rwodzi added.
Zimbabwe is also the host to the longest water curtain in the world, the Mighty Victoria Falls, aptly referred to as Mosi Oa Tunya, which means the Smoke that Thunders. The country has preserved it, in its pristine condition, for the world to enjoy and is inviting people from all corners of the globe to come and sample it.
Further, it also hosts the Great Zimbabwe monuments, a unique marvel piece of ancient architecture, from which the country derives its name. Lesser known to many is the fact that there are also numerous other stone-built monuments, each of which would have passed a major tourist attraction, were it not for magnificent Great Zimbabwe!
In the Eastern part of Zimbabwe is the Eastern Highlands, an awesome and pristine view of mountains covered by perennially green vegetation. The Eastern Highlands remains mysterious even to the locals.
Following the outbreak of the Covid -19 Pandemic, the Government of Zimbabwe put in place the National Tourism Recovery and Growth Strategy in terms of which Zimbabwe is targeting to attain a US$5billion Tourism Economy by 2025. The strategy recognizes the Middle East as one of the markets that Zimbabwe will pursue earnestly, to boost tourism arrivals and investments in the tourism sector.
Zimbabwe, through the tourism marketing agency, the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, the country stands ready to facilitate familiarization trips for tour operators and travel agencies in the Arab region to enable them to sample the numerous tourist attractions in the country.
During the visit, the delegation will give out 10 complimentary tours to chosen Tour Operators and Travel Agents to come on a familiarization visit to Zimbabwe to enable them to market a product they are familiar with.
Zimbabwe is taking every precaution to keep both visitors and the local populace safe, notwithstanding the Covid -19 pandemic. This is reflected in the Government response measures under which key tourism destinations like Victoria Falls, which is a leading global tourism destination, were deliberately prioritised for vaccination and reached herd immunity as early as July 2021, rendering the resort Covid-19 safe to visit. Vaccination at Victoria Falls now stands at 96%, and the city is now going for the booster shot where significant progress has already been registered.
With regards to investment in the sector, Zimbabwe has put in a number of tourism-specific incentives, which include duty rebates and tax holidays in the designated Special Economic Zones and Tourism Development Zones. This bears testimony to the pronounced determination to grow the tourism sector to a multi-billion dollar sector by the Year 2025. The team from the tourism ministry is ready to engage through bilateral discussions and I am confident that the discussions under the mantra “Zimbabwe is open for business.”
“Our vision is also to attract, invite and host an Arabic Village in one of our many National Parks, which we conceive will help in attracting more tourists from this region. Our team from Zimparks who are here with me will further elaborate on this issue as we believe that this is one of the missing links in our tourism development strategy. We, therefore, welcome any potential investors and take the discussion to the next level.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, the presentations by the different speakers during today’s conference will give intimate details on Destination Zimbabwe as well as the opportunities available to you in terms of tourism investments. I take this opportunity to invite all of you to Zimbabwe, a World of Wonders. While in Zimbabwe you should also expect to enjoy the Zimbabwe cuisine made from fresh and organic farm produce from local farmers.”
