Diversification of tourism products: A citadel of investment opportunities

Rutendo Nyeve, Features Reporter
RENOWNED American writer, Lawrence Block once said, “Our happiest moments as tourists always seem to come when we stumble upon one thing while in pursuit of something else.”

This observation does not only speak of the greatness of witnessing and experiencing something new and unexpected but also the need for tour operators and the nation to diversify tourism products and activities.

It is an undisputable fact that Zimbabwe as a nation is among the best tourism destinations on the globe, boasting of one of the seven wonders of the world — Victoria Falls, which leads a pack of other natural and man-made attractions.

This has seen tourism cementing its position as one of the key economic pillars and foreign currency earners in the country. In fact, tourism is considered a low-hanging fruit according to the National Development Strategy (NDS) 1 blueprint.

Prospectively, the sector is poised to be transformed into one of the leading sectors of the economy, where it is expected to contribute US$600 million to total capital investments by 2025, while in the same year, the tourism industry is targeting to become a US$5 billion tourism economy as outlined in the National Tourism Recovery and Growth Strategy:2020-2025.

In order to achieve this, various facets aimed at enhancing and expediting this drive need to be taken into consideration. These include improvements in the investment landscape, unleashing new possibilities while appreciating sustainable tourism development and emerging trends in the global tourism dynamics.

The pace of technological change is staggering, the extent and speed with which innovations in one country cross borders through exchanges of services, goods, capital and ideas is unprecedented.

As such, the tourism industry needs to be robust and deliberate in ushering in innovative ideas and projects.

Tourism industry players need to re-imagine, re-think, innovate and diversify tourism products and services that give a unique experience for the traveller.

While Bulawayo has established herself as a Meetings Incentives Conferences and Events (MICE) hub, various players in the events space have come up with initiatives aimed at diversifying the tourism products of the city.

Events co-ordinator and Bulawayo Sneaker Expo Organiser Mr Davison Feliate said as players in the events space, they have tapped into people’s lifestyles, culture and music among other facets to further broaden the tourism products and experiences of the city, cognisant of the global trends.

“In our case, the Sneaker Expo for example, is a culture and lifestyle event where our age groups range from teenagers to about years. We realised that everyone has some form of lifestyle linked to them, be it how they dress, lifestyle, music the culture of how they present themselves.

“We believe that as an expo, we have a contribution to make in tourism development in the sense that already there are people from outside Zimbabwe coming through. For example, we have teams from Botswana and South Africa who are interested in coming to see what and how we live in Zimbabwe. They are interested in what is happening in Zimbabwe,” he said.

Besides the culture of events, Mr Feliate said whenever people gather and an event takes place, it spurs domestic tourism.

He called on Government to work with events co-ordinators to alleviate challenges faced by people who want to travel, be it at the airport or border clearances.

Beyond Bulawayo, the traditional model of tourism has often come at a significant cost to the environment and local communities. In recent years, there has been growing awareness on the need to transform the tourism sector into a more sustainable and responsible industry. There is growing consumer demand for sustainable experiences. Travellers are becoming more conscious of their environmental footprint and are actively seeking out eco-friendly accommodation, tour packages, and destinations.

This has provided Zimbabwe with investment opportunities in sustainable tourism, particularly alternative or renewable energy, waste management technology, transportation and auto-mechanised systems.

Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry Barbara Rwodzi recently said the upcoming trends in tourism can not only improve the sector but empower communities through the improvement of livelihoods.

She said the growing trends present the nation with various investment opportunities that have a potential of huge returns.

“Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) Tourism is one of the fastest growing form of tourism, contributing significantly to economies of various nations. Zimbabwe does not have multi-purpose convention or exhibition centres.

“Zimbabwe only has 397 conferencing facilities with a total capacity of 34 198 combined, which is not even enough to host a single mega event. This area spills over to sports tourism, a greenfield, which has international events such as the World Cup in various disciplines and religious tourism, both of which have the potential to attract large crowds,” she said.

The underinvestment in the supporting infrastructure is a huge impediment to bidding efforts for key international events and conferences.

Another growing trend has been medical tourism which is also growing in an unprecedented manner. Minister Rwodzi said the country spends over US$400 million per annum on outbound medical tourism, which money can be converted for use in Zimbabwe, if the segment is developed.

“We are also promoting and encouraging investments in community-based tourism development, which will support the sustainable development of local communities by growing the value chain through small enterprises and projects.

“By investing in community-based tourism, investors not only have the opportunity to earn financial gain, but also to have a positive impact on the society and the environment in sync with Sustainable Development Goals and Agenda 2030 by the UN,” she said.

Cognisant of this dynamic change in the tourism industry, the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry has clustered the tourism sector, currently with 11 clusters.

These include culture and heritage cluster, sports tourism, medical tourism, rural tourism, nature and wildlife, study, visiting friends and relatives, business and MICE, holiday and recreation among others.

Minister Rwodzi said in all these clusters, there are opportunities for investment in accommodation that is both lodges and hotels, themed restaurants, medical tourism facilities, integrated resorts, golf estates and casinos, recreation facilities, as well as Park Estates.

“All of these are critical to enhancing the competitiveness of destination Zimbabwe. There are also opportunities available in Conferencing and Exhibitions, given the deficit in all the provinces across the country.

“To support investments nationally, the Government has put in place several incentives which include but are not limited to, duty rebates on imported capital goods and equipment (S.I. 222 of 2022) and safari vehicles (S.I. 10 of 2022) for tourism businesses.

“The Government has also gazetted Victoria Falls as a tourism Special Economic Zone. Investors can enjoy tax exemption, duty rebates, among others,” she said.

Weighing in on investment opportunities, Bulawayo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Permanent Secretary Mr Paul Nyoni said the city is in serious shortage of accommodation facilities which is a perfect opportunity for investors to take up.

“Our biggest opportunities are around infrastructure. You know the shortage of rooms, conference facilities, and other facilities when you come for the trade fair every year,” said Mr Nyoni.

He said the remodelling of the Zimbabwe International Exhibition Centre complex is currently the lowest-hanging fruit for investors to take up.

“The Zimbabwe International Exhibition Centre (ZIEC) has been re-thought, re-imagined to the extent that we are going to be building a 5 000-seater convention centre, a five-star hotel, and a three-star hotel, as well as high-end shops, a theme park, and modern sporting facilities.

“We are trying to address the shortage that I am talking about. We have about 4 000 rooms in and around the city, hotels, and lodges, but those are never enough, as you know we host upwards of 40  000 people in the city during trade fair week, and in that, if you compare 40 000 and 4 000, you know you have a problem, which is why, as you drive around, you have seen that every other house has been turned into a Bed and Breakfast, but let us take the opportunity to invest in this area,” said Mr Nyoni. – @nyeve14.

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