Zimpapers Logo

A carnival is a festival of colours, which transforms into costumes (Mas short for Masquerade), calypso, steel band music, dance and an array of different ethnic food and art; which attracts millions of people from around the globe.

Carnival usually involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of circus, masked or costume parade and a street party. A carnival celebration is a great way to showcase a country’s cultural heritage.

Last Saturday Harare woke up to a rare spectacle as Zimbabweans in their broad totality poured into the streets, courtesy of the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority.
Jason Moyo Avenue exploded into colour and symphony. Business ground to a halt. The maiden Zimbabwe International Carnival was felt by all and sundry, courtesy of the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority.

Two famous carnivals are the Rio Carnival in Brazil, also known as “The Greatest Show on Earth’” and the Trinidad Carnival, commonly referred to as “The Greatest Party on Earth”.
Both these carnivals have grown into international spectacles, bringing in hundreds of thousands of tourists each year.

As their tag lines suggest each brings a unique experience to the offering.
In Zimbabwe, the carnival is certainly the way to generate tourism in the future given the massive response. Being the first of its kind, it was a learning process for all, from ZTA to the media and performers.

Brazil makes US$2,9 billion per year from carnivals, that are held in each and every city. Of course, Brazil started in 1949 and has the experience, but it takes a year for Brazil to organise a carnival and with ours it was just two months. Understandably, we needed to start somewhere.

We had a great experience and we should start organising the next one now and not tomorrow, if we are to generate serious tourism revenue.
Everything having been said, it was a very good starting point and worth trying. It was an experience well lived.
It is the future of tourism marketing in Zimbabwe!