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Southern Africa: Nyanga Eyes 2010 'Cake'
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 Published by the government of Zimbabwe |
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The Herald (Harare)
14 September 2007
Posted to the web 14 September 2007
Harare
With time ticking towards the 2010 World Cup to be held in South Africa, Zimbabwe, among other Southern African countries, has made considerable strides towards ensuring that the country benefits from the soccer showcase.
Each area, district or province in the country has since the confirmation that Zimbabwe will receive some of the expected thousands of visitors, been taking measures and sprucing up facilities such as hotels and airports in readiness for the extravaganza. One such area, endowed with a wide range of tourist facilities that has joined the rush to grab the "2010 cake" is Nyanga.
Situated in the Eastern Highlands in Manicaland Province, Nyanga has over the years, remained one of the most popular tourist destinations for both locals and international tourists. "We have some of the best tourist facilities compared to many areas in the country and the world at large and we have embarked on a campaign to market the place ahead of the 2010 World Cup," Nyanga MP Mr Paul Kadzima said during a recent visit to the area.
His sentiments sum up the vigour that almost everyone in the area seemingly possesses as people foresee foreign currency pouring in with the influx of people in 2010 and beyond. The place that is best known for its scenic mountains and low temperatures even when the other parts of the country are experiencing scorching heat, is home to some of the most breathtaking tourist facilities. There are the Nyangombe Falls, a miniature of the mighty Victoria Falls, cascading through rocks along the Nyangombe River.
Then there are the Nyangombe Ruins, which provide useful hints on how people in the area lived many years ago, in almost the same way the Great Zimbabwe Monument in Masvingo does.
The area is also home to Nyangani Mountain, which at 3 657 metres, is Zimbabwe's highest peak. "There is also the Rupara Game Park and from such a combination you can see that anyone who visits Nyanga will have almost a complete overview of the tourist attractions in the whole country. The area is also home to some of the best hotels in the country," said Mr Kadzima. These include Troutbeck Inn, Montclair Hotel and Casino and Rhodes Nyanga Hotel. Apart from providing world-class accommodation facilities, the hotels offer visitors a chance to sample sporting events such as fishing, mountain climbing and wildlife viewing.
It is such facilities that authorities in the area think with the right marketing, the whole country would benefit. "Our main worry now is transport. I have talked to the Ministry of Transport and Communication so they can upgrade two aerodromes in the area. One is at Troutbeck Inn while the other is at Brondesbury," Mr Kadzima noted.
The refurbishment of the aerodromes, said Mr Kadzima, would accord tourists the chance to make one-day visits to the area.
"We are not only focusing on catering for those tourist who will be staying in Nyanga but we want to have a situation where through sound communication, some can fly in the morning and return to their bases in the evening," he said.
While progress has been made to improve infrastructure in the area, there has been a push towards promoting the marketing of the area. The Nyanga Tourism Association, formed to spearhead marketing of the area, this year launched a website to showcase its splendid facilities. Apart from tourism, the association further provides information on investment opportunities in the area. While the website caters for those who have access to the Internet, the district has come up with more ways of reaching out to the people.
The association has now indicated that it will take advantage of the World Tourism Celebration Week that runs from September 22-28 in the area to sharpen their marketing strategies. The celebration, to be officially opened by the Minister of Environment and Tourism, Mr Francis Nhema, will run under the theme "Tourism opens doors for women".
As part of the measures to market the area, a group of pupils from different schools in the district formed a team that is working with major stakeholders in the area to produce brochures containing information about the area.
The brochures are distributed to tourists who visit the area while plans are underway to ensure that they are distributed to other areas outside the district. The local leadership has also come up with a programme to host local and international journalists.
"Periodically, we invite both local and international journalists here for them to come and see for themselves what we are doing so that they can tell the nation and the world about what the area can offer," the MP explained.
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And with such a workplan, no one can doubt that Nyanga is on course to benefit from the tourism chances that beckon as the World Cup draws nearer.
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| Copyright © 2007 The Herald. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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