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The Government of Zimbabwe is aiming to put the country back on the map with a collaborative National Tourism Sector Strategy (NTSS).
This follows the most recent of six validation workshops – with others being held in Harare, Bulawayo, Victoria Falls, Masvingo, Mutare and Chinhoyi – to get input from tourism stakeholders. It was held in Harare yesterday (March 27), where tourism stakeholders came together to offer input into a strategy document that would map out a turnaround in the ‘limp’ that tourism currently has in Zimbabwe, due to the absence of a National Tourism Strategy. “The sector was limping in terms of strategic direction, and also without well-orchestrated development and an informed growth path resonating with one key centre of focus. This in turn had placed our nation and sector in a negative competitive advantage in the region,” said Tourism and Hospitality Industry Permanent Secretary, Thokozile Chitepo. “Tourism plays a critical role in the development of our economy by luring foreign direct investment and the much-needed foreign currency which results in job creation, improvement of our social and economic life or index.”
The NTSS aims to increase the tourism sector’s contribution to the gross domestic product from its current US$2.5bn (€2.02bn), to US$8.1bn (€6.54bn) by the year 2030. It also plans to increase tourist arrivals from a current 2,4m to 7m; and export earnings from US$1bn (€807.2m) to US$7bn (€5.62bn).
Chitepo says the ministry has embarked on the development of the NTSS to inform, harness and champion a more centrally focused development and strategic growth path for the sector. The strategy will focus on seven key pillars, namely, environmental sustainability, destination management product development, effective marketing, facilitation and access, information communication technology, and human capital development.
Source: tourismupdate.co.za