Community Tourism Initiatives Boost Rural Economies in Zimbabwe
The Zimbabwean government is making significant investments to promote community-based tourism initiatives as a way to drive economic development in the country’s rural areas.
According to the Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Barbra Rwodzi emphasised the importance of rural tourism, stating it not only creates jobs but also adds value to their land and resources.
“We are so much encouraging rural tourism through this community base,” Minister Rwodzi said during an interview on the sidelines of tourism bill consultations.
She added, “It’s adding, bringing jobs to them, adding value to their land or the resources that they have.”
One such initiative that the government is highlighting is UMUZI, a community-based tourism project.
“We are going to show about our culture, about our food, about our dressing, the national fabric, about even the dressing that we have in our rural settings as Zimbabweans, which speaks to the heritage and culture,” the Minister explained.
She further said, “It’s promoting the rural people fiercely and bringing their economies to much better levels.”
The government’s focus on community-based tourism aligns with its broader efforts to boost economic opportunities in Zimbabwe’s rural areas and attract investment from the Zimbabwean diaspora.
“Bringing in diaspora money back home. Because naturally, our diaspora people out of the country have their parents in the rural place and most of their closest relatives in the rural areas,” Minister Rwodzi said. “It would be good for them to be investing in the rural areas.”
To further showcase Zimbabwe’s tourism potential, the country will be hosting the first-ever Gastronomy Forum in Africa from July 26-28, an event organised in partnership with the United Nations.
“Her Excellency has done and the United Nations is honouring her with hosting a forum in Victoria Falls,” the Minister stated. “Among us, the list of the entertainment that we are going to be showing or to be taking our visitors through, we have a community-based tourism structure that we are going to visit with them.”
The discovery of a new dinosaur species, Ambiresaurus, in 2022 has also presented an opportunity for Zimbabwe to attract more visitors to its museums and heritage sites. However, the Minister cautioned that the government is still conducting further research before making any definitive plans.
“We believe in investigating and analysing things first so that when questions come to you or if anything happens we will be able to,” Minister Rwodzi said. “We have that in our files and we have our team that we have actually allocated to work on that. Once they are done with what they are doing in terms of fact finding we will be able to talk about that.”
Overall, the Minister emphasised the government’s strong commitment to leveraging tourism as a catalyst for rural economic development and job creation.
“We are looking at receiving the United Nations just in a month from 26 July to 28 July. We are hosting the first ever gastronomy forum in Africa through the works that Her Excellency has done and the United Nations is honouring her with hosting a forum in Victoria Falls,” Minister Rwodzi said.
“It’s promoting the rural people fiercely and bringing their economies to much better levels. So it’s something that we are looking at and promoting so much,” she added.
The government’s investments in community-based tourism initiatives like UMUZI, as well as plans to showcase the country’s cultural heritage and natural wonders to international visitors, signal Zimbabwe’s determination to harness the power of tourism to drive inclusive and sustainable economic growth, particularly in its rural communities.
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