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Karikoga Kaseke

Oliver Kazunga, Senior Business Reporter
THE Office of the President and Cabinet and the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry in collaboration with the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) will next week hold an all-stakeholders’ conference on the ease of doing business in the tourism sector.

The one-day event is set for Harare on September 1 under the banner, “Unlocking opportunities for tourism growth”.

ZTA chief executive officer Mr Karikoga Kaseke said the event is envisaged to attract high level representation from both the public and private sectors.

Factors affecting the tourism growth including enablers such as transport, information and communication technology and financing will come under the spotlight at the conference.

“The indaba is also expected to provide tourism stakeholders with the opportunity to spell out obstacles to destination attractiveness and increased investment into the tourism sector by both local and foreign investors.

“The workshop will provide a platform for objective analysis of the state of the tourism products and services and how best government could facilitate and promote increased growth and development of the sector,” he said.

Among the key speakers will be the Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Dr Misheck Sibanda, chairman and founder of Brand Africa Dr Shingi Munyeza, and Zimbabwe Council for Tourism chief executive Mr Paul Matamisa.

It is hoped that the resolutions of the indaba will be fed into the ongoing Ease of Doing Business Reform process which started last year.

The reforms, which focus on improving the business environment for Zimbabwean entrepreneurs as well as laying foundations to attract sustainable and mutually beneficial foreign direct investment, are expected to enhance Zimbabwe’s competitiveness, create jobs, generate revenue and support growth.

Tourism is recognised as one of the four pillars of the economy with immense potential to contribute towards the Gross Domestic Product, foreign exchange earnings, employment creation and opportunities for development.

Mr Kaseke said: “Any efforts in attracting more investments into the sector, increasing destination accessibility as well as enhancing product quality and service delivery will not only go a long way in uplifting the destination’s competitiveness but also raising export earnings generated including those by tourism.”

@okazunga.