Gideon Madzikatidze
MASVINGO – Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Barbara Rwodzi has announced that this year’s edition of the Sanganai/Hlanganani/Dzimbahwe World Tourism Expo has attracted nearly 140 international buyers, with Zimbabwe’s airspace experiencing increased traffic as scheduled and charter flights ply the Harare-Masvingo-Harare route ferrying international, regional and domestic tourists.
Addressing various delegates ahead of the official opening of the expo in the Heritage City, Rwodzi was speaking as delegates followed the Gastronomy, Cultural Music and Street Carnival cluster activations taking place across Masvingo.
“Our airspace is busy. Imagine that today we have been prioritising three clusters including music, food (gastronomy) and Street carnival and displays, but the response is quite exciting,” Rwodzi said.
“We have flights coming in and out of Masvingo ferrying international, continental, regional and local tourists. This is what tourism-driven economic activity looks like. It means more bed nights, more forex receipts and more SME participation,” she added.
The Minister said the surge in airlift capacity and seat occupancy was direct evidence of improved destination accessibility and last-mile connectivity under the Ministry’s tourism clusterisation strategy.
Rwodzi highlighted that the Ministry has segmented the national tourism product into 13 strategic clusters to drive product diversification and market segmentation in line with Vision 2030.
“Tourism clusterisation has enabled us to complement steps towards the realisation and progress towards Vision 2030,” she said.
“It allows us to package and market Zimbabwe holistically while ensuring that every province has a unique selling proposition,” she added.
Today’s programme featured three key clusters including Gastronomy Tourism which showcase Zimbabwean cuisine and culinary heritage, Cultural Music Tourism which showcase live performances celebrating intangible heritage; and Street Carnival which is a mass participation activation driving visitor footfall and community engagement.
Rwodzi said the remaining 10 clusters including MICE, Adventure, Eco-tourism, Sports, Heritage, and Religious Tourism will be activated throughout the year to ensure year-round viability and de-seasonalisation of the tourism product.
Masvingo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Ezra Chadzamira articulated the critical role of tourism in the province’s development agenda.
“Tourism is a key economic pillar for Masvingo Province,” Chadzamira said.
“Through devolution and inter-governmental collaboration, we are ensuring that tourism receipts are retained locally, that infrastructure is upgraded, and that communities benefit directly. This is how we complement Vision 2030 at the provincial level,” he added.
Chadzamira said the province was working with the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, local authorities and private sector operators to improve tourism infrastructure, service standards and destination management to handle increased arrivals.
Industry stakeholders said the Harare-Masvingo airbridge was boosting B2B linkages, DMC packaging and length of stay as buyers and tourists combine the expo with visits to Great Zimbabwe and other heritage assets in the province.
“This is destination marketing in motion,” Rwodzi said.
“When the skies are busy, the economy is busy. That is the power of tourism,” She added.