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Leonard Ncube , Victoria Falls Reporter
PRESIDENT Mnangagwa is expected to have a double header official opening of two international conferences in Victoria Falls this Friday as the tourism city reverberates back to life with back-to-back conferences.

For more than a year, the country’s tourism and conference capital has been on its lowest as the global Covid-19 pandemic literally closed business around the  world.

International and local travel restrictions meant no tourists and conferences in Victoria Falls resulting in some hotels closing.

With the recent relaxation of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions from Level 4 to Level 2, Victoria Falls is once again expected to come back to its old self characterised by conferences and meetings.

Some hotels have said they are fully booked for this week until end of the month.

Some are getting inquiries on cancellations that were made last year because of Covid-19 as clients want to re-book.

There has been a significant change in activity recently and locals are also hopeful the town is awakening.

Tourism is a key driver to the country’s economic growth, through the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1:2021-2025), a key building block towards achieving an upper middle income economy by year  2030.

This week, Victoria Falls hosts the Sadc Southern Africa Chief Justices’ Forum (SACJF) and the Institute for Chartered Secretaries and Administrators in Zimbabwe (ICSAZ) 50th anniversary and annual conference.

Both will be held at Elephant Hills Resort and President Mnangagwa will be the guest of honour.

Matabeleland North Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Richard Moyo said Victoria Falls had come back to life as there are a number of conferences lined up.

“We are excited as a province and country and thank Government for relaxing lockdown restrictions which has seen intercity travelling and meetings being allowed. This has enabled conferences to take place and we have two conferences that will be officiated by President Mnangagwa on Friday.

The President will on Thursday officially open the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair in Bulawayo, before heading to Victoria  Falls.

“There are conferences lined up for October and this is a good thing for Victoria Falls. We hope the new fortunes will improve business in the city,” said Minister Moyo.

ICSAZ is a division of Chartered Governance Institute (CGI) Global and will be held under the theme: “Reset, Reignite, Refocus.”

According to the conference programme, discussions will be focused on Vision 2030. There will be a panel discussion of Good corporate governance, transparency and accountability with speakers drawn from the institute and its partners.

Reserve Bank Governor Dr John Mangudya, Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission chairperson Justice Loice Matanda-Moyo and acting Zimbabwe Tourism Authority chief executive Mr Givemore Chidzidzi will be among panelists for the topic on “Strong institutions for sustainable growth and development.”
There will also be discussions around embracing change, innovation and disruptive technologies” with experts in information communication technologies leading the discussion.

Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe (HAZ) Matabeleland North chapter chairman Mr Anald Musonza said the industry recorded encouraging occupancies this month following review of lockdown.

“We have seen a number of local groups coming into Victoria Falls for conferences and meetings. We have also seen the business mixture improving as more and more international and regional tourists are coming back and augmenting our local domestic business that has kept us going.

We hope this is the beginning of more business coming back as bookings are showing signs of huge improvement compared to same time last year. We are seeing new bookings coming and also those postponed being rebooked,” said Mr Musonza. — @ncubeleon