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Leonard Ncube in Victoria Falls
SCORES of Victoria Falls residents yesterday joined festivities to mark World Tourism Day during which they were allowed free entry into the Rainforest.

This comes at a time when Government has promised to reduce entry fees into the Rainforest starting January next year.

It costs $7 and $4 for local adults and children respectively to enter the Rainforest. Locals have complained at different fora that the entry charges were too high for them considering they were the custodian of the natural resort.

Last year residents petitioned Parliament asking for a reduction in entry fee and free entry for children and elderly.

Environment, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Prisca Mupfumira had said Government was looking into the issue as she also felt locals should benefit from resources around them.

Yesterday, it was pomp and fanfare after the World Tourism Day celebrations as hundreds thronged the Rainforest in the afternoon.

“As a ministry we also want to develop and encourage domestic tourism. Yes we have a lot of visitors coming from all over the world but we want our own people to enjoy natural resources including the Mighty Victoria Falls,” said Minister Mupfumira.

“As a ministry we declared that today the 27th of September World Tourism Day admission into our National Parks is free. So people in Victoria Falls today and local Zimbabweans enjoy free entry into the Mighty Victoria Falls. I have often said $7 was too much for entry into our parks and now that it’s in my territory, from the 1st of January next year we will review entry fees into our parks significantly downwards for locals.”

The minister said plans were underway to introduce special fees for disabled, pensioners, school children and elderly over 70 years, as some of the packages being implemented.

Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Information Communication Technologies and Courier Services Dr Jerifan Muswere who was the guest of honour at the celebrations reiterated the need for the tourism sector to embrace ICT, which he said directly contributes to the gross domestic product and forms the backbone of today’s economy.

Provincial Minister of State for Matabeleland North, Richard Moyo, concurred saying tourism was recognised as a critical sector globally contributing to GDP and employment.

In his welcome remarks, Victoria Falls Mayor Councillor Somvelo Dlamini appealed to all stakeholders to take the lead in the digital transformation of Victoria Falls as the hub of tourism in the country. The global theme is “Tourism and digital transformation.” – @ncubeleon