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Victoria Falls International Airport

Tourism and mining have been identified as key sectors that should contribute significantly to the country’s envisaged economic turnaround. It is therefore disturbing to learn that the growth of tourism is under threat from criminals that are robbing tourists.

Last week Parliament heard that about 100 tourists were robbed while booked at hotels in the resort town of Victoria Falls in the last four months alone.

Chegutu West MP Cde Dexter Nduna called on the Government to strengthen security in resort areas to protect tourists who are bringing in the much needed foreign currency.

Cde Nduna said it was important for the relevant authorities to prioritise the strengthening of security in Victoria Falls and other resort towns. He said the upsurge in robbery cases in resort towns was threatening the growth of the tourism industry.

When President Mugabe commissioned the new look Victoria Falls International Airport last November, he urged the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development, the Ministry of Tourism and the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe to work closely together so that the country could derive maximum economic benefits from the new facility. Government spent $150 million to upgrade the airport which now has state-of-the-art specialist aviation equipment.

Cde Mugabe said the new airport provided the Ministry of Tourism with a platform to vigorously market its products. He said the upgrading of the airport paved way for Victoria Falls town to become a tourist hub receiving tourists from all corners of the globe.

The country has already started enjoying the benefits of the new look airport which has the capacity to handle 1,5 million passengers a year, up from 500 000. Tourist arrivals in Victoria Falls increased by 21 percent in the first six months of this year and this is attributed to the expansion of the airport.

The new runway can accommodate wide bodied aircraft such as Airbus, A340, Boeing 777 and Boeing 787.

Zimbabwe which is recovering from negative publicity, should ensure that the tourists that visit the country become its ambassadors hence the need to rid tourist destinations of criminal elements.

We totally agree with Cde Nduna that the strides the country made in developing tourism can be reversed if criminals are allowed to terrorise our visitors.

Those providing accommodation and other tourist services should put measures in place to protect tourists from criminal elements.

Security at hotels should be beefed up while the Zimbabwe Republic Police should ensure the tourist destinations are safe for tourists to move freely even at night. When tourists visit us they want to enjoy themselves without fears of being mugged even at night hence the need to clean up our resort towns.

Zimbabwe can only be a tourist destination of choice if the tourists’ safety is guaranteed.