Tourism and Hospitality Industry Deputy Minister Tongai Mnangagwa buys a Zimbabwe-inspired handcrafted bag from Mrs Beauty Hughes’ SME stand while Mr Rubaya looks on during the launch of the Domestic Tourism Campaign at Meikles Park in Mutare on Wednesday. – Picture: Takudzwa Manzero
THE Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry on Wednesday successfully launched the Domestic Tourism Campaign dubbed: ‘ZimBho – Uripi’ in Mutare.
The campaign, among other aims, seeks to drive economic growth through encouraging locals and the Zimbabwean diaspora community to travel within the country’s borders this festive season as they partake in the various festivities.
The campaign feeds into the target of the US$5 billion tourism economy by 2025 as set in the National Tourism Recovery and Growth Strategy.
The provincial launch kicked off with a procession from Mutare Museum to the heart of the city — Meikles Park — where the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry, its arms, and various stakeholders marched to music and song.
Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister, Honourable Barbra Rwodzi, said for the campaign to achieve tangible results, there is need to set multifaceted strategic objectives.
These objectives aim to foster a travel culture in our citizens, promote various clusters of tourism such as excursions, rural, sports, and religious tourism, thus unlocking the incredible potential of domestic tourism, hence boosting our economy. Through this campaign, our primary objective is to promote local tourism and instill a culture of traveling among our fellow citizens. We want to encourage the Zimbabwe diaspora community, as well as the Zimbabwean local community to explore the wonders of our own nation. The growth of tourism in a country is championed by its own people.
Our positioning statement for this campaign is: ‘Holiday in Zimbabwe, Holiday at Home,’ a powerful statement that reminds us of the joy and experience that awaits us right within our own country. Furthermore, our tagline: Every Journey Leads You Home, encapsulates the idea that each exploration and adventure undertaken within Zimbabwe will lead us back to the heart and soul of our nation.
During this campaign, we encourage everyone to experience the magnificence that Zimbabwe has to offer through exploring our hidden gems of our local attractions, immersing yourself in the beauty of our flora and fauna, treating your taste buds to our sumptuous local cuisine, embracing the entertainment options available, be it sports, concerts, or the vibrant nightlife. In addition, the richness of our traditions is something not to be forgotten, where weddings, funeral rites, and family gatherings hold a special place in our hearts, she said.
The Eastern Highlands boast of picturesque, majestic sites and breathtaking landscapes such as the highest mountain in Zimbabwe, Nyanga Mountain, second highest waterfall in Africa, Mutarazi Falls, deepest quartzite caves in Southern Africa, MawengeMwena Mountain caving site found in the Chimanimani Mountain Range among many others.
Minister of State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Advocate Misheck Mugadza, whose speech was read by the Director of Economic Development in the Office of the Permanent Secretary for Manicaland Provincial Affairs, Mr Munyaradzi Rubaya, hailed the campaign, saying such promotional campaigns should be in near the future be taken to other districts of Manicaland.
We are a prime Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) destination which can grow competitively to match Victoria Falls if properly equipped with requisite facilities. We need investment in MICE products related facilities like five-star hotels of competitive capacity of 200 or more room capacity, five-star conferencing facilities so that we become a MICE destination of choice. We believe that this will translate the tourism potential into increased tourist arrival and tourism expenditure and subsequently leading to increased contribution of tourism to the provincial Gross Domestic Product, he said.
The national ZimBho campaign was launched in Binga, Matebeleland North early December.
