Staff Writer
The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority Chief Executive Ms Winnie Muchanyuka on Friday commended tourism sector revival amid devastating Covid-19 pandemic.
This comes after ‘We Are Victoria Falls’ initiative struck a landmark development and promotion partnership with Cape Town Tourism.
The partnership was announced at the official unveiling of the ‘We are Victoria Falls‘ destination management partnership board in Victoria Falls on Friday.
In her remarks, Muchanyuka paid tribute to the city’s tourism player for striking the deal. “We really would like take this opportunity to commend the efforts that the industry is making to bring back sanity to the sector. We all know that tourism was one of the most affected industries during the covid-19 pandemic, and it is encouraging to see the industry leading in efforts to revive and grow the sector,” said Muchanyuka.
“We are delighted to have the development and promotion partnership between Victoria Falls and Cape Town destinations. These two-destination management
organisations’ agreement to embark on a joint marketing program that cross-promotes both destinations along the theme of ‘the Ultimate African Adventure’ will go a long way in the revitalisation of tourism in the region,” she said.
Working with key airlines and private sector operators, the campaign is set to be launched this year, in order to attract shared tourist markets.
“This is the kind of help that we need from the industry for us to be able to propel the destination and to position it in the world. As you may be aware, longhaul visitors of these two destinations come from the same source markets. When they do come to this part of the world they’re not coming to see one destination but want to combine a lot of activities and places in one visit so the twinning of Victoria Falls in Cape Town is only natural because from the tourist can see the Table Mountain and the Victoria Falls, both in one trip,” she said.
The partnership board will be led by seasoned tourism administrator Barbara Murasiranwa-Hughes. She is expected to work with a wide variety of experienced board members drawn from the initiative’s local partners.
“It is a great pleasure to announce that the partnership was formally constituted in December, and we have the strong support of six founding partners. These are the City Council, Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency, Airports Company Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Parks & Wildlife Management Authority and the Tourism Business Council of Zimbabwe,” she said.
Ms Murasiranwa-Hughes added, “These founders have worked tirelessly to research, design and create this partnership – and they have committed to financially support its core operations,” she said.
The partnership is expected to work as a coordinating entity for tourism in Victoria Falls, pulling all stakeholders together to improve the destination for visitors, residents, businesses, and communities. The mandate of the partnership includes designing and implement activities that support better management of the destination, as well as to market the destination. It’s role has been directly informed by extensive stakeholder consultation during 2022.
Following the launch of the partnership, Mrs Murasiranwa-Hughes also announced a new partnership between We Are Victoria Falls and Cape Town Tourism.
“A huge congratulations to We Are Victoria Falls for bringing their vision to life as this is no small feat, and we look forward to collaboratively exploring ways to position and uplift tourism within an African context, by developing ways to inspire travel between our two destinations and then share any learnings and successes with the rest of the continent,” said Cape Town Tourism Chief Marketing Executive Leigh Dawber.
Mr Tawanda Gusha, CEO of Airports Company Zimbabwe said ‘working with our private sector partners to support the connectivity between these two cities is key.
“We are committed to continuing our successful air services development program and supporting this important route,” he said.
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