Zimbabwe’s tourist attractions such as Victoria Falls, Great Zimbabwe, Nyanga, Vumba Mountains, Mana Pools and Hwange National Park among others were a hive of activity during the Christmas and New Year holidays as local and foreign tourists spent quality time with families and friends.
In Bulawayo families visited Matopos National Park, Matopos Sailing Club, Tshabalala Game Sanctuary and Khami Ruins to enjoy the holidays. What is encouraging is the increase in the numbers of locals visiting the tourist attractions. This is a confirmation that the strategies put in place to promote domestic tourism are bearing fruit.
In China, the bulk of the tourism products are consumed by locals because of the government’s deliberate policies to promote domestic tourism. We could have the same situation if the Tourism and Hospitality Industry comes up with special packages for locals.
These could include special accommodation rates, entry fees to national parks and other such places to encourage locals to visit our tourist destinations. Zimbabwe’s Tourism and Hospitality industry has in the past been relying heavily on international tourists hence it took long to recover post Covid-19. It is a fact that the tourism industry is one of the country’s biggest foreign currency earners but this should be complemented by earnings from hosting locals.
It is unfortunate that we have some players in the tourism industry prioritising international tourists at the expense of locals. What happened during the just ended Christmas and New Year holidays should become the norm every year.
Zimbabweans should enjoy their natural heritage which is the tourist attractions.
The services offered by the hospitality industry should motivate locals to save for holiday spending as is the case with international tourists visiting our country every year. Many of these international tourists save for years to raise enough money to go on holiday and it is this culture of saving that should be promoted among citizens.
Matopo National Park
Zimbabwe is already a tourist destination of choice as evidenced by about 20 airlines flying into the country and the tourism industry therefore has great potential to contribute significantly to the country’s economic growth.
The challenge to the industry is to come up with packages that attract both international and local tourists. The industry should enjoy repeat visits from both local and international tourists so that the hotels and lodges as well as other services providers are kept busy throughout the year.