Zimbabwe Tourism

This was feedback I received this week about the weekly Travel and Tourism page in The Zimbabwean. We maintain to write objectively about Zimbabwe. I am a Zimbabwean myself living in my new home’ and I go back regularly and take new family and friends’, but that is not the point. The tourism industry in Zimbabwe is a shadow of its former self and that is undeniable. International foreign inbound tourists, except perhaps the Victoria Falls to a certain extent, are non existent in Zimbabwe. The most cited reason tourists leave Zimbabwe off their African holiday itineraries is due to their negative perceptions about the country following several years of political instability.

While the reader who commented on the Travel and Tourism column has  a valid point that millions of Zimbabweans and their new family and friends trek home each year they can hardly count as real tourists. Real tourists spend foreign currency. Zimbabwean tourists’ who go home each year exchange their hard earned foreign exchange on the black market for billions of Zimbabwe dollars and then visit hotels and lodges and pay in Zimbabwe dollars as Zimbabwe residents. For examples the Zimbabwe residents rates at Caribbea Bay in Kariba works out to about £8 per night for bed and breakfast. In the UK this could buy you a coffee and a sandwhich or 1.5 boxes of cigarettes. Therefore, Diaspora tourists hardly help the struggling economy or generate much revenue for the holiday venues they frequent.

Another subtle irony is that Zimbabwean Diaspora tourists’ would not have be tourists to their home country if the economy was stable because then there would be no reason for them to seek employment abroad in the first place.

We maintain that is it safer to visit Zimbabwe than most African countries but International perception is becoming increasingly difficult to sway with every year Zimbabwe struggles on. In the Chimanimani, Lowveld, Nyanga, Kariba and throughout the country there have been countless closures of lodges due to lack of viability or takeovers. For the tourism businesses still operating the influx of Diaspora over the holiday periods does not fill the coffers enough to reinvest and this is evident in most of the hotels and lodges where maintenance is being done but substantial reinvestment and upgrades is a financial impossibility. Tourism in Zimbabwe will flourish once again when sustainable demand is created and international interest in Zimbabwe as a holiday destination is rekindled. This will only become a reality when Zimbabwe forges forward into a new era of political stability and overseas perceptions about the destination change. Business in the tourism industry, (and any other for that matter), are most likely to do well in an environment conducive to doing business.

We welcome more debate on this subject and look forward to more readers’ views on the state of Zimbabwe’s tourism industry. Perhaps there is more out there than we know about and some areas are indeed doing well. It will be a welcome change to hear about them because on the face of the facts it would seem that operators throughout the country are battling to enhance their client base and struggling to maintain and run their properties efficiently with a general lack of resources such as a constant supply of electricity and scare inputs.

Rian Bornman
rian@venues4africa.com
Venues4Africa.com

Kariba Hosueboat Special!

Kariba’s water levels are rising fast with the good rains and March or April will be a pleasant time to take to the waters. Fishing would have improved by then after the muddy water has had time to settle following the rains and with a little extra fuel the stunning lake areas of the Ume River can be explored. Further into the Lake better tiger fishing can also be experienced.

School Holiday Special

Two families up or ten people can enjoy the following;

• Ample fuel to explore the Ume River
• Fishing tackle and rods
• All meals and snacks
• Imported foods, wines and beers
• Tender boats for fishing
• Well maintained houseboat
• Warm and friendly staff with excellent cook

All inclusive price is USD$1,200 per day for 
* Please note that 6 weeks notice is needed to order supplies from South Africa.
* Based on 4-5 night stay

EMAIL – shaun@venues4africa.com or call +27216836444