But with political turmoil and government’s ruinous handling of the economy, the crowds at the Falls have thinned drastically, causing widespread concern about the future.
“We’re looking at cancellations daily,” said the general manager of a leading safari company here.
Despite this glaring turndown in tourism, the authorities still issue upbeat statistics, claiming the sector is on the mend. Zimbabwe Tourism Authority CEO Karikoga Kaseke claimed last week that tourist arrivals were up by 34 percent last year and there were high hopes the once-booming industry’s decline was now over.
He said the country received 1,4 million tourists last year, mainly from other African countries and the Far East, compared with 1,1million in the same period the previous year.
“If this is anything to go by, the decline is coming to an end,” Kaseke claimed. “We now have to make sure that we do not experience a decline in 2008.”
However his figures are in stark contrast with what The Zimbabwean witnessed in the tourist resort during the Christmas holiday.
The town centre was desolate, the craft market was silent and the usually sold-out champagne river cruises were attracting little interest.
“This (Christmas) should be one of our busiest weekends,” said the tour operator. “But it just isn’t.”
The town’s hotels, normally fully booked at this time eight years ago, were only 40 percent full this year, said Paul Matamisa, CEO of the Zimbabwe Council for Tourism.
“We have suffered tremendously since 2000,” he said. “What we must now do is to look at things that take us to 2010 (FIFA soccer world cup).”
However, tour operators and hoteliers said the coming months were likely to be much worse.
“We are going into a serious dive the next three months. It’s looking very, very bleak,” said another tour operator.
The Falls themselves are at their peak of beauty. With the Zambezi River flowing strongly from recent floods, the 5,604-foot-wide falls dump millions of cubic feet of water a minute into the giant crevice below.
The crashing spray shoots back up the ravine, drenching delighted sightseers and turning the surrounding area into a rain forest topped by a fluffy, white cloud.
The falls have awed Westerners since explorer David Livingstone stumbled upon them in 1855. But few British, American and European tourists gathered at the falls last weekend. Many of those who did come were from southern Africa and China, spending very little in terms of hard currency.
The outdoor crafts market was desolate. Some vendors slept next to their stalls, while others chatted in the shade.
Just seven years ago, 1,000 tourists a day perused the wooden elephants, bowls and masks crafted by the 400 people who worked the market.
Last weekend, that number dropped to a few dozen, the vendors said.
“When you look around, you just see hungry faces,” said Eddie Mpofu, 33. Before the recent crisis, Mpofu and his three partners made up to US$250 a day. Now on a good day they split US$25.
“It’s becoming critical now,” Mpofu said. “We can’t pay our rent.”
If things don’t improve, some hotels could shut down and others might have to lay off workers, said the general manager of a Safari Lodge here.
Either step would be painful. Zimbabwe already has more than 80 percent unemployment and is heavily dependent on tourism for hard currency.
Botswana and Zambia are also suffering because Victoria Falls vacations often include side trips to those nearby countries, said Chipo Mtasa CEO of Rainbow Tourism Group and president of the Zimbabwe Council for Tourism.
Mtasa however remains optimistic that the damage is not yet irreparable.
“There could be a lot of positive developments starting in 2008,” said Mtasa. “What we need to do is have more airlines coming into Zimbabwe. The pulling out of the British Airways was really a low point for us.”
Hotelier Shingi Munyeza advises that work on the Victoria Falls airport runway has to start immediately to enable it to receive bigger planes. His advice has had no takers so far.
Mugabe’s government blames the waning interest on negative media reports on Zimbabwe meant to tarnish the image of his country.
But critics say shortages of fuel and a skewed exchange rate that makes tourism facilities incredibly expensive have also scared off would-be visitors.
“If we get some good news in the next weeks and the horror stories on television stop, I think we might see an end to the cancellations,” said Tourism minister Francis Nhema.
Post published in: News