By Jonathan Mbiriyamveka
The bad state of most roads connecting Zimbabwe’s major tourist attractions is impacting heavily on local and international tourism with most stakeholders calling on government for a quick fix solution.
For instance, African Sun Limited made a huge investment in Hwange Safari putting up 100 luxury rooms but with the poor connectivity by road chances are likely that they would recover the investment due to poor occupancy.
This came out of the Zimbabwe MICE Masterclass where presenters highlighted some of the issues impacting on brand Zimbabwe as a tourist destination.
Presenters called on government to consider fixing the Bulawayo to Hwange highway and then Hwange to Victoria Falls and also Harare to Chirundu which also covers Kariba, another prime tourist attraction.
Another issue that Zimbabwe needs to look into is the issue of walkability. This means that a section of Harare should be walkable. It was said that when tourist arrive, they not only want to feel safe but also be able to take walks even in CBD.
Added to this, Coffee around the world has become BIG business and hoteliers were urged to do away with coffee satchets but instead invest in coffee machines or expressos. Just as well as people talk over a beer or lunch nowadays a good number of tourism prefer business meetings over coffee.
Presenters also noted that Zimbabwe’s tourism industry lacks attractive packages. More often than not tourists want to enjoy their stay when they know there get more value through packages. This could mean from air ticket, to activities to accommodation there has to be packages that cater for all these.
However, in a press briefing, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Deputy Minister Tongai Mafidi Mnangagwa confirmed that government had a workplan of rehabilitating not only the roads leading to tourist attractions but also other highways.
Mnangagwa highlighted the importance of MICE tourism as a strategic priority within the Ministry’s Tourism Clusters. He emphasized that this focus will help position Zimbabwe as a premier destination for global events and conferences.
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