Rebound projected for Zimbabwe tourism

Zimbabwe's tourism sector, badly affected by negative sentiment stemming from alleged human rights abuses by the state and politically motivated violence in recent years, is projected to rebound by about 7% annually over the next 10 years.

Image: Gallo

Victoria Falls on the Zambezi River in Zimbabwe

The sector contributed just 13% to the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) last year and is now expected to contribute more on the back of revived interest by international tourists. Analysts at Imara Securities say the sector is on course to register significant growth in the next few years.

The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA), on the other hand, says tourism has raked in more this year than last year, although finer details could not immediately be established. With the revival of Zimbabwe's economy seemingly on course, albeit at a slower pace, the tourism sector is also likely to benefit from domestic tourism.

"The tourism sector has the potential to be one of the fastest growing sectors in Zimbabwe's economy, benefiting from the continued recovery in both global and domestic economic activity, and also on the back of targeted marketing strategies," said one of Imara's analysts.

Paul Hubbard, an archaeologist and safari guide at the monumental Great Zimbabwe (a ruined city, the capital of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe from about 1100 AD to 1450 AD) said the tourism sector had witnessed phenomenal growth in the past two years and that the strong interest in most of Zimbabwe's historical centres and tourist resort destinations was expected to underpin the growth of the sector.

He said at least 150 people visited Great Zimbabwe every month, attributing the strong interest in the positive uptick in the tourism sector to the relevant stability and calmness following the signing of the Global Political Agreement (GPA), which gave rise to Zimbabwe's coalition government, bringing together Zanu PF and the two MDC formations in 2008.

"Perceptions of my country are beginning to change, and we've witnessed enormous progress in the past two years," said Hubbard.

Information at hand shows that the tourism sector, due to register "6.9%" growth over the "next decade" - according to Imara - has been buoyed by a 47% jump in earnings for the previous year after recording 2.3 million visitors to the country. This excludes domestic tourism, which informed sources say is equally on the up.

Zimbabwe's hoteliers, the biggest of whom have ditched their South African operations, have also been buoyed by significant growth in hotel occupancy levels. Meikles Hotels and African Sun are some of the major hotel operators that have shelved their South African operations in the Cape Grace and the Grace respectively.

"Occupancies for resort hotels have slowed to about 25% from their previous peak of about 75% recorded in 1995."

Zimbabwe's tourism sector is also a major employer, especially for the communities around resort and historical areas, while major attractions include the Victoria Falls, Great Zimbabwe, Manna Pools and the picturesque eastern hills among others.

"The sector generates greater employment than many other industries, with relatively low skill levels, thereby spreading the benefits more evenly," said the analysts.

They did however called on the government to invest intensively in the tourism sector. "However, considerable effort in terms of planning and alignment of priorities is required if the country is to repeat the successes seen elsewhere and return (the sector) to prior peak levels."