Story by Tichaona Kurewa
THE Victoria Falls marathon set for this weekend is expected to breathe a new lease of life into the resort city, with accommodation facilities almost fully booked while various tourism activities have been oversubscribed.
Zimbabwe’s tourism capital is experiencing a record increase in arrivals as the city prepares to host the second edition of the Victoria Falls Marathon post COVID-19.
Tourism players and business people alike attest to brisk business which is expected to consolidate growth in the prime destination.
“The town is alive, we expect brisk business as more people are expected in the city. This will see accommodation facilities and bookings for activities going up,” noted one of the tourism players who spoke to the ZBC News crew.
“Even us as business people we expect increased business as people get tips and salaries, they will come and buy here as well. So everyone will certainly smile including the vendors who sell tomatoes and vegetables,” a business owner said.
“Our accommodation facilities are fully booked because of this event,” stated another tourism player, while another added, “This is good for the city as it also propels sport tourism.”
For the Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe, the marathon is slowly becoming an annual draw card for visitors into the city.
“This is a major highlight for the year, all hotels and lodges are fully booked. For the community, we are also happy that everyone is now an athlete, we are all into fitness. It’s good for the community, it’s good for the destination,” said Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe, Matabeleland North chairperson, Mr Chiku Mulinde.
The 15th edition of the Victoria Falls Marathon comes alive this weekend, with around 2 500 athletes from across the globe set to participate.
