Published by the government of Zimbabwe
19 October 2009
editorial
Harare — TOURISM should be a major engine to develop Zimbabwe, being an industry that combines hard-currency earnings with plenty of potential new jobs.
It is also an industry that can combine large businesses, with their hotel chains and major private resorts, with medium and small businesses, right down to coffee shops and bed-and-breakfast guest houses.
So the big exhibition staged by the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, the Sanganai/Hlanganani World Travel and Tourism Africa Fair was important, bringing in buyers from around the world.
These buyers are generally tour operators looking for destinations to sell to their clients who want a good holiday.
Zimbabwe has had a bad Press in many of the principal sources of tourists in the West, as well as in South Africa, traditionally a major customer.
Bringing in buyers and generally not only getting our political agreements to work but also publicising successes and the generally peaceful nature of Zimbabwe is important.
After all, our incidence of violent crime is a tiny fraction of South Africa's and roughly of the same order as the famed peaceful Namibia and Botswana.
And the hosting of the soccer World Cup in South Africa next year presents many opportunities; if just 1 or 2 percent of the tens of thousands of visitors extend their holiday to Zimbabwe, that will be a big help.
But Zimbabwe needs to offer value for money and must be able to offer visitors a worthwhile holiday, one they will tell their neighbours and friends about when they go back home in such a way that others will want to follow in their footsteps.
Here we have some way to go.
There is a general belief in Zimbabwe that our tourism assets are so good that we do not have to market, do not have to perform and do not have to compete.
That belief is wrong.
There are plenty of African countries with wildlife, and several of these countries market it a lot better than Zimbabwe does.
Far too many tourists fly into Zimbabwe or Zambia for a day to look at the Victoria Falls and then spend the night, and spend most of their money, in South Africa or Botswana.
Many have the idea that Zimbabwe is very expensive, thanks to the weird exchange rates pertaining last year and for a few years before that.
We have done very little to combat that perception and some in the Zimbabwean tourism industry are still giving the impression that they want to milk tourists instead of offering good value for money.
While our infrastructure might be a little tatty, that will not discourage tourists so long as we keep everything, including our streets, clean and healthy.
African tourism is a very, very competitive business. And those countries that put in the effort to preserve and market their attractions, train their people to provide the required services, and generally treat the tourist as a desired customer are the ones that are and will continue to make money.
Zimbabwe has many attractions, but few are unique. We not only have to market through tourism fairs, but we also have to deliver when we do attract tourists.
A few years ago there was hope of a big breakthrough with Chinese tourism. While a few Zimbabweans were prepared to learn the language and learn how to cook food that tourists from China want, the numbers were small, too small it seems, and prices were not competitive.
Zimbabwe also needs to form far more alliances with others in Southern Africa and develop special packages. Most tourists from outside the continent want to see more than one country, but there are limits as to how many elephants anyone actually wants to see.
So packages have to concentrate on what is unique to each country, or what each country can do best, and then a tourist might well feel he or she has been given their money's worth.
Near enemies in the Middle East have done this, selling the Pyramids of Egypt, old Jerusalem and the ancient cities of Jordan in a single package. We need to do the same.
So while special marketing is useful, we must recognise its limitations.
Besides seeking tourists we also have to re-invigorate our tourism industry, educate our people on how to treat tourists, and ensure that we can offer at least as good value for money as our neighbours.
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