Tourism Innovation Challenge 2022: A transformative and job creation tool

The Tourism Innovation Challenge is a launchpad for transforming the sector through creative projects that have the potential to create employment for young people.

The competition augurs the government’s thrust on innovation in which the government has been visibly intentional in having the youth at the core of the country’s innovation programmes.

Hon Mangaliso Ndlovu, the Minister of Environment, Climate, Tourism, and Hospitality Industry said the youth have the capability to proffer ideas that can turn industries around and keep Destination Zimbabwe ahead of competing destinations.

To this end, he said the government is committed to youth participation in the economy and has created an environment for the youth to innovate and make Zimbabwe’s tourism better through the various Innovation Hubs that have been established in state universities across the country.

Speaking during the prize-giving ceremony today, Mr. Givemore Chidzidzi, the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) Chief Operating Officer said the 2022 Tourism Innovation Challenge is coming after a trying period for the tourism industry where the sector’s performance was taken back to 1999 levels. This period however presented a great opportunity for the tourism sector to be more innovative so as to recover and grow the sector.

“The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority embraced this challenge and sought to work with the youth whom we believe have the energy and innovation required to boost the transformation of the tourism sector. The Zimbabwe Tourism Innovation Challenge targets youths aged 30 years and below. The objective is to assist in identifying innovative projects that can help transform the tourism sector. It also seeks to encourage young innovators to create projects around the tourism sector as well as creating employment for the youth,” Mr. Chidzidzi said.

Thus this year, the challenge has been cascaded to all provinces to encourage, stimulate and promote innovation and entrepreneurship amongst youths without “leaving anyone or any place behind”. All the provinces responded resoundingly as the challenge attracted 181 entries – a 300% increase from 2021.

Commenting on the innovation challenge, Sophie Zirebwa, the ZTA Director of Domestic Tourism and Strategic Research said the increase this year was not only in the number of projects but also in the improved quality of ideas to transform the tourism sector. Honourable Ministers of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution for all the 10 Provinces were actively involved in the capacitation of the Youths in their respective Provinces.

Mr. Ray Mawerera, the ZTA Board Chairperson said investing in young people is akin to investing in the future of tourism.

“COVID-19 taught us the importance of innovation. I invite private sector players to partner with us in driving tourism innovation. As we seek to improve the sector, we should also address perceptions around pricing to the effect that tourism products are expensive. Local people should appreciate our tourism products. There is a need for conversations with the private sector to find a common ground on pricing. The ZimBho Campaign seeks to make tourism products accessible to locals,” Mr. Mawerera said.

The provincial challenge started with a call for project submissions, which were placed on print and electronic platforms. Participants had the option of entering as individuals or as a group. 10 Projects were shortlisted for the provincial challenge. These selected projects were evaluated by an independent provincial evaluation committee to come up with the provincial winner. Provincial winners were announced at Capacity Building Workshops for the youths which were organised in all ten provinces.

At the national level, Tumelo Mabanga (25) from Harare Province who runs the Find & Go project was the overall winner. Find & Go is a platform that connects customers to service providers in the Hospitality industry. This is through a Website, Mobile Applications, and WhatsApp Bot. The platform allows users to get information on any service provider (accurate and updated), be it working hours, prices, menus, pictures, videos, booking and payment options, availability, activities to do, places to go, etc. make an informed decision, and pay online. Service providers in the tourism sector do not have enough visibility as a result they cannot grow their businesses to their full potential. So we are giving them visibility by bringing them online.

The first runner-up is Simphiwe Vuyelwa Mguni (27) from Mangwe district in Matabeleland South Province. She runs “A Taste of Zimbabwe” project which is a Zimbabwean travel culinary social media campaign. The campaign is centered around the cuisine, heritage, culture, and tourism in Zimbabwe.

The aim of the campaign is to explore Zimbabwe’s beautiful tourist attractions, all the while discovering Zimbabwe’s tastiest cuisine that has been developed through centuries of Zimbabwean heritage. This campaign will combine travel, food, and technology to create the ultimate Tourism adventure that will increase both local and international tourism in Zimbabwe.

The second runner-up is Innocent Makonese (28) who hails from Masvingo Province. He runs the ‘Jewelz of Zimbabwe’ project – a marketing initiative that focuses on using mainstream media and cutting-edge technologies to promote domestic and inbound tourism in Zimbabwe. The idea behind this initiative is to (re)discover Zimbabwe’s hidden “jewels” and share them with the world. The initiative particularly seeks to stir the desire and curiosity to visit Zimbabwe by addressing the gap between less effective and conventional ways of disseminating information about the beauty of Zimbabwe’s tourist sites.

Winners Prizes