Story by Patience Nyagato
ZIMBABWE is participating at the Africa Travel Indaba in Durban, South Africa, where the issue of growing the tourism sector is taking centre stage.
The country this week joined more than 36 countries from across the globe to exchange notes on latest global trends in tourism with other regional ministers, aviation experts and global travel professionals.
Deputy Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry Honourable Tongai Mnangagwa who is leading the Zimbabwean delegation took time to explain the tourism cluster approach adopted by the Second Republic.
He said the initiative aimed at bolstering tourism promotion and development in the country has seen the sector being segmented into various facets including recreation, business, sport and wildlife tourism, among others.
“Tourism is much broader than people imagine. If someone spends at least 24 hours outside their usual place of residence, they are a tourist. In Zimbabwe, my Ministry has adopted the Tourism cluster approach which seeks to dedicate and focus on individual facets of tourism such as holidays and recreation, visiting friends and relatives, business, culture and heritage, health, sport and nature, and wildlife, all in a bid to bolster tourism promotion and development in the country,” he said.
The Africa Travel Indaba comes at a time when the country is preparing to host the United Nations Tourism Africa Gastronomy Forum from the 26th to the 28th of July in Victoria Falls.
