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(HERALD) Tourism indaba: STERP in the right direction

Tourism indaba: STERP in the right direction
By Isdore Guvamombe

THE multifarious array of tourist attractions that range from structures sired by natural phenomena to man-made tapestries, and wildlife make Zimbabwe the dream reality often sought after by tourists but seldom found.

In the country’s ritzy towns and cities of high fashion and bright lights, fancy vehicles, a la carte meals and symphonies of blaring discos are all but supreme declarations of the luxury that can be recorded in the annals of a tourist’s memos for easy reconstruction in the mind.

Away from the ear-splitting hooters and screeching tyres of the urban vehicles lies Zimbabwe’s natural resource-driven life.

Victoria Falls, 68 national parks and several other smaller wildlife sanctuaries, impressive stone ruins and rock paintings that have stood the test of time through generations that have thrived and died, are timeless declarations of the supreme legacy nature bestowed upon Zimbabwe.

Every tourist who has visited Zimbabwe has been intrigued by its cultural diversity, the natural bounty of verdant hills, dense forests, gurgling rivers, rolling moorlands, the big five and small five animals, among others.

It is fact not fiction that Zimbabwe can be Africa’s paradise with its magnificent landscapes and unlimited tourism resources so much that a synchronised marketing strategy can easily yield the required results.

In a country where a tourist can easily throw bones or a dice and go by their pointer to a place where they will enjoy the splendour and grandeur of what God and the ancestors have bestowed on Zimbabwe, articulating a marketing strategy with one voice is the only thing left.

Whichever way you go — east, west, south and north — the country has a total package for any discerning tourist.

The Government and the tourism industry in its broad totality, led by the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, today gather for the inaugural National Tourism Stakeholders’ Conference that should synchronise tourism marketing and bolster tourist arrivals.

As a country, Zimbabwe has everything it takes to be the best tourism destination and it is treasonous for the stakeholders to fail to make a cocktail of offerings that can easily market themselves because of their unchallenged beauty.

Candid reflection, telling the truth on the ground and avoiding the prevalent disjointed approach should be the centre of discussion at the conference if Zimbabwe is to become relevant to the 2010 World Cup soccer finals to be held a spitting distance from us in South Africa.

Over the years, the ZTA through its chief executive, Mr Karikoga Kaseke, has made spirited efforts to market Zimbabwe the world over but a disjointed approach on the part of the tourism and hospitality industry has been the biggest let-down.

The economic climate was also a negative factor to some extent, and there is need for the banking sector to move fast and restore the use of plastic money.

The ZTA has had an array of exhibitions in China, Russia, Spain, Japan and South Africa among other places and put Zimbabwe on the world tourism map but there has not been any serious follow-up from tourism companies in the country.

It was through the ZTA that Zimbabwe got the Approved Destination Status in China, Japan, and Russia, among others.

The mother body clearly created the space and atmosphere but that space was never taken and now that there is an inclusive Government and that there is a loud call to remove sanctions, there is need for more seriousness on part of the stakeholders.

The conference will bring together top Government officials, captains of industry and the private sector to spearhead the implementation of the just-launched Short Term Emergency Recovery Programme.

The two-day conference, running today and tomorrow, will be officially opened by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and officially closed by Vice President Cde Joice Mujuru.

The two senior politicians are expected to give the conference the much-needed depth and impetus to drive the country’s tourism sector to greater heights.

The workshop will run under the theme "Deepening Partnerships for the Revival of the Tourism Economy."

As part of STERP, tourism revival will be prioritised through securing external lines of credit for working capital, rehabilitation of infrastructure and importation of capital equipment, among others. The inclusive Government said it would launch an aggressive marketing campaign covering regional and international markets. Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Engineer Walter Mzembi said STERP was a national agenda and not a partisan agenda.

"This conference seeks to realign stakeholders in the tourism industry to the STERP. Tourism is expected to provide a soft landing for the new economic blueprint.

"The industry needs significant investment. I believe that tourism and its minister is the public relations face of the country. The most attractive product we have is inclusivity and celebrating diversity.

"The country’s image has been under a barrage of cyberspace attack through negative publicity which includes travel warnings, yet we have very peaceful and co-existent destinations," he said.

Under STERP high-level teams will be dispatched to different countries to reflect the correct image and potential of the country, as well as removing the country risk perceptions entrenched in source markets and consequently lobby for the removal of travel warnings.

The conference covers topics ranging from destination rebranding and promotion; the national image rebuilding and tourism image marketing; tourism revival fund — funding for product re-development and development; implications of the Indigenisation Act on investment in the tourism sector and the role of the Diaspora.

Also under the spotlight will be the roles of transport in tourism development and ICT for tourism development amongst other topics. Chief panellists at the Tourism Indaba include Information Technology Minister Nelson Chamisa; Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Development Nicholas Goche; economist Eric Bloch; Reserve Bank Governor Dr Gideon Gono; Minister of Finance Tendai Biti; Minister of Media, Information and Publicity Webster Shamu; Minister of Industry and Commerce Professor Welshman Ncube and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara.

What is critical is that the workshop is designed to synchronise and harmonise participation and activity to boost tourism.

The country’s state of preparedness for the 2010 Fifa World Cup should also come under the spotlight and corrective measures should be taken where things have not moved.

The World Cup is an opportunity for domestic companies to take advantage of its spill-over effects, hence the need to intensify programmes to promote soccer tourism.

There is need for an overarching framework that seeks the involvement of stakeholder from various sectors, infrastructural development, telecoms, immigration, local tax authorities, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, local and international financiers, that form the backbone of tourism, to be adopted.

Until and unless the banking sector revives the use of plastic money, Zimbabwe would be shooting itself in the foot as all the tourists coming to the World Cup are used to both cash and plastic money.

This should be central to the marketing strategy.

Tourism industry is presently confronted by myriad challenges that include a weakening infrastructural base, high duties on importation of capital goods, bad publicity and foreign currency shortages.

Overall, visitors to the country have since plunged to record lows despite past interventions by Government.

Labels: STERP, TOURISM

posted by MrK @ 3:53 PM