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Walter Nyamukondiwa Kariba Bureau

Stakeholders in the tourism sector in Mashonaland West province are meeting in Kariba to review the National Tourism Policy.

The outcome of the consultation process will feed into the national policy that will guide tourism development from 2024 to 2028.

It replaces the 2014 to 2018 policy, whose review was hampered by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Consultant Dr Shepherd Nyaruwata said the outdated policy did not incorporate the 2nd Republic’s vision and growth aspirations.

“The tourism policy has outlived its usefulness in view of current Government development blueprints including Vision 2030 and the National Development Strategy 1,” said Dr Nyaruwata.

Government seeks to grow the tourism sector’s contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to US$5 billion by 2025.

It also seeks to push the sector’s contribution to 10 percent of GDP from the current 5 percent.

In a speech by the director in his office Mr Douglas Chiwiro, Mashonaland West Provincial Secretary Mr Josphat Jaji said the development of a functional tourism sector was key for the province’s economic development plan.

“In view of the decline especially in the tourism activities in the Province (Mashonaland West) it is imperative that the National Tourism Policy under review must include strategies that will scale up tourism in the province,” he said.

He hailed the Ministry of Environment, Climate, Tourism, and Hospitality Industry for broad consultation in the formulation of the policy.

Stakeholders include tourism operators, hoteliers, transporters and government departments among others.