Farai Mabeza, Senior Staff Writer 
FINANCE minister Mthuli Ncube says the government will intensify domestic tourism promotion to sustain the resilience of the industry.
This comes as the Treasury chief has predicted that tourist arrivals are expected to increase to 1,4 million in 2023, whilst tourism receipts are projected at US$623 million.
In the 2023 national budget Ncube said the promotion would be done through campaigns and promotions such as ZimBho/IZimYami.
“The domestic tourism market largely sustained operations of the industry during the Covid-19 pandemic, with domestic entries into national parks in 2021 increasing to 251 088, compared to 173 714 in 2020,” Ncube said.
Finance Minister, Mthuli Ncube
“During the first half of 2022, the country registered a 115 percent rise in tourist arrivals to 352 719, compared with the same period in 2021. Domestic visits into the national parks rose by 90 percent from 90 909 in 2021, to 172 481 during the period January to May 2022.
“As a result, tourism receipts increased by 121 percent in 2022 to US$337,5 million, compared to the same period last year,” he added.
The tourism industry is expected to continue to grow in the outlook, benefiting from the recovery in international tourism, coming in of new players in the aviation sector and meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE).
According to Ncube the growth will be anchored on interventions that also include international tourism marketing and promotion.
“In 2023, government will increase marketing and promotion efforts through the deployment of tourism attachés at our embassies to aggressively promote destination Zimbabwe in key source markets that include China, France, Germany, India, Japan, South Africa, UAE, the United Kingdom and the United States of America,” he said.
“The deployment of attachés will be complemented by active participation at flagship regional and international tourism meetings, conferences and exhibitions, marketing and promoting Zimbabwe’s tourism to the world through promotion programmes like VisitZimbabwe, MeetInZimbabwe and InvestInZimbabwe campaigns.”
The sector will undertake image building and promotion through hosting of tourism opinion leaders and influencers, as well as organising familiarisation tours for media houses from key international tourist source markets.
“Priority will also be given towards intensifying marketing efforts across the various digital marketing platforms. This is also in sync with the government’s engagement and re-engagement thrust,” Ncube said.
Meanwhile the 2023 Budget has allocated $725 million towards the capitalisation of Mosi Oa Tunya Development Company Private Limited, a special purpose vehicle created to spearhead tourism infrastructure development in Victoria Falls, particularly focusing on offsite and onsite infrastructure for the Victoria Falls Special Economic Zone that is expected to crowd in private sector investments in tourism.
As the government moves towards a community-centric approach, community empowerment programmes have been rolled out to four pilot Community-Based Tourism Enterprises (CBTE’s) and this programme will be extended to other communities countrywide, Ncube added.
It also comes as the government is in the process of reviewing the National Tourism Policy and Tourism Act.
“This will be done through a consultative approach and once finalised, will be rolled out to all provinces to provide policy guidance for tourism development,” Ncube said.
He also announced that the US$7,5 million Tourism Facilities and Services Development and Upgrading Revolving Fund will be accessible through CBZ Bank and Nedbank to companies in the tourism sector affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
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