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Leonard Ncube-Victoria Falls Reporter

Tourism month festivities have been officially launched, with emphasis on the need for operators and other stakeholders to embrace inclusivity.

Today is the start of September, which is the tourism month.

The annual World Tourism Day would be celebrated on September 27 under the auspices of the World Tourism Organisation (WTO).

Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Mangaliso Ndlovu, launched the festivities in Victoria Falls on Saturday.

He was accompanied by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mr Munesushe Munodawafa, Zimbabwe Tourism Authority acting chief executive Mr Givemore Chidzidzi, Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority’s regional manager for north-west Matabeleland, Mr Samson Chibaya, and other stakeholders.

The tourism month was launched in style, with the media briefing held in the Victoria Falls Rainforest, the same place where President Mnangagwa launched the National Tourism and Growth Recovery Strategy last year.

Every citizen has been urged to do something towards promoting tourism in Zimbabwe as part of the tourism month activities, whose main national celebrations would be held at Paradise Pools Resort in Bindura, Mashonaland Central Province under the theme, “Tourism for inclusive growth”.

Minister Ndlovu said this year’s celebrations come at a time when globally the tourism industry has been hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, which literally brought the travel and tourism sector to a halt and putting millions of jobs at risk.

Global tourism arrivals have fallen from 1,5 billion in 2019 to 381 million in 2020 while arrivals into Africa declined from 70 million in 2019 to 18 million in 2020.

Zimbabwe registered a 74 percent decline in tourist arrivals, receiving 605 000 tourists against 2,3 million received in 2018.

Minister Ndlovu said the tourism month celebrations were designed to bring awareness of the socio-economic benefits derived globally through the travel and tourism sector and its value chains.

“The importance of the tourism sector in Zimbabwe cannot be overemphasised as it is recognised as a key economic pillar for the revival and growth of the Zimbabwean economy as underscored in the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1),” he said.

“The decline persisted in 2021 with only 143 000 arrivals, which is a 72 percent decline from the 520 000 received in the same period in 2020. 

“We, however, look forward to change in fortunes in the third quarter of the year and beyond based on the strides made in the global vaccination campaign and our own efforts to make Zimbabwe a safe travel destination.”

He said already the success of the vaccination programme campaign launched by President Mnangagwa has begun to show positive results.

This has demonstrated in Victoria Falls where the community and tourism industry in particular has fully embraced the vaccination agenda therefore reaching herd immunity in over 77 percent of all adults vaccinated.

Minister Ndlovu commended tourism players for their resilience and mobilising workers, who are frontline workers to vaccinate.

He said at 90 percent, Victoria Falls is arguably the widely vaccinated city, together with the tourism sector in Zimbabwe.

Vaccinating the large population of Victoria Falls, said Minister Ndlovu, is important as it gives confidence to visitors.

“I therefore want to encourage all Zimbabweans to come forward and get vaccinated so that we can attain herd immunity at national level to enable full resumption of all economic activities.

“Indeed, inclusive growth is central to the target set out in NDS1, hence this year’s celebrations present us with an opportunity to reaffirm the need to grow our tourism inclusively without leaving anyone behind. 

“I call upon the tourism industry in its entirety to use this year’s celebrations to showcase the various ways that their tourism businesses can and have promoted inclusive growth and changed livelihoods of the communities that they are involved with. 

“As team tourism, we are focused on rolling out initiatives aimed at creating jobs at provincial, district and village levels hence we call on all stakeholders to join,” said Minister Ndlovu.