By Daniel Chigundu
PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has called on the country’s tourism sector to consider improving the quality of its product and pricing so that it can be competitive enough.
Most tourism products, ranging from room, visits to attraction sites such as the Victoria Falls, game-drive and many others are deemed to be on the expensive side.
The high prices have been identified as one of the many reasons that have blocked locals from accessing such facilities as the Victoria Falls and many others.
Speaking during the Official Opening of the 1st Session of the 9th Parliament of Zimbabwe, President Mnangagwa said tourism has shown some signs of improvement and need to be enhanced to make it more competitive.
“Tourism sector continues to make notable improvements. There is need however to improve tourism infrastructure, product range, quality and pricing of our products to make them more competitive.
“Stakeholders in this sector are encouraged to leverage on partnerships with other successful tourist destinations in the region to jointly market products available in our country,” he said.
The President also took the opportunity to urge cities in the country to consider bidding for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) taking advantage of facilities they have.
“Cities such as Bulawayo are challenged to consider marketing the opportunities around meeting and event tourism taking into account the presence of the ZITF facilities,” said the President.
According to Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA), MICE business is big business that has the potential to generate a lot of tourism receipts for the country if effectively marketed.
Besides the ZITF facilities in Bulawayo, there is another bigger facility in Harare, the Exhibition Park where the Harare Agricultural Show is held.
