By Jonathan Mbiriyamveka
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has challenged Masvingo Province to develop a tourism corridor linking its major attractions as Government seeks to unlock new investment and spread the economic benefits of tourism across the province.
Speaking at the opening of the Sanganai/Hlanganani/Dzimbahwe World Tourism Expo in Masvingo on Wednesday, President Mnangagwa said the province needed to move beyond individual attractions and develop interconnected tourism products.
He identified Great Zimbabwe, Lake Mutirikwi, Tugwi-Mukosi, Manyuchi Dam and Gonarezhou among the destinations that could form part of a broader tourism development strategy.
He also called for the proposed tourism corridor to incorporate liberation war sites such as Kamungoma, conservancies along the Save Valley and Chikombedzi, where communities host the Budula Festival, described as the Great Limpopo Cultural Trade Fair.
“It is critically important to re-imagine a tourism development corridor that connects these nodal sites,” President Mnangagwa said.
The proposal could provide Masvingo with an opportunity to package its historical, cultural, wildlife and leisure attractions as a connected destination rather than marketing them as separate tourism products.
Great Zimbabwe, which is hosting the 19th edition of the tourism expo, was placed at the centre of the country’s heritage tourism agenda by the President.
He said the monument represented more than an important historical site, arguing that it demonstrated the sophistication and innovation of Zimbabwe’s ancestors.
President Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe’s tourism offering should increasingly encompass heritage, culture, indigenous knowledge, music, cuisine and the arts alongside wildlife and Victoria Falls.
For Masvingo, he challenged stakeholders to use the province’s diverse attractions to attract investment and develop new tourism products.
He said local authorities should act as enablers of tourism development, while communities, the private sector and development partners should play their part in expanding the sector.
The proposed corridor would also have implications beyond tourism.
President Mnangagwa said tourism investment was generating employment and empowerment opportunities while contributing to infrastructure development, including roads, accommodation and other social services.
The hosting of the Expo in Masvingo has already resulted in the transformation of the Gymkhana Events and Conference Centre into what the President described as a modern tourism, business, events and conferencing hub.
He urged districts across the province to help achieve provincial economic growth targets by unlocking their tourism potential.
The President also called for stronger people-to-people exchanges and trade links, saying tourism partnerships could contribute to regional and continental integration.
The proposed corridor therefore presents Masvingo with a broader development challenge: turning its concentration of historical, cultural, wildlife and recreational attractions into a connected tourism economy capable of attracting investment, creating jobs and generating greater benefits for surrounding communities.
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