Establishment of park will boost tourism /Zimbabwe herald
The establishment of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park by three southern African countries will boost tourism in the region.
Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe, Gaza National Park in Mozambique and Kruger National Park in South Africa will be linked to create a giant conservation area with wild animals roaming from one country to the other.
The park which is expected to be officially launched by Presidents Mugabe, Chissano and Mbeki later this month will enhance the attractiveness of the southern Africa region as a tourist destination.
The benefits of having one big park far outweigh those of individual parks in the three neighbouring countries, hence the establishment of the conservation area believed to be one of the largest in the world.
Visitors will find the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park more convenient and interesting rather than hopping from one game park to the other in the three countries as is the case now.
Foreign tourists are also far more interested in packaged regional tours rather than visiting individual countries.
Tourism ministers from Zimbabwe, Mozambique and South Africa met in Harare last week to finalise preparations for the project's launch.
For Zimbabwe the park comes at a time when the country's tourism industry is poised for recovery following concerted efforts to revitalise the sector hit by a persistent flow of negative publicity.
The negative campaign orchestrated by Britain was designed to stall Zimbabwe's land reforms. It has failed as the programme has been wound up changing the face of commercial agriculture in Zimbabwe.
The British propaganda also attempted to scupper the conservation project but as usual failed to drive a wedge between Zimbabwe and its neighbours.
The exposure of British lies on Zimbabwe has seen many countries lifting travel warnings, cheering the local industry.
The spectacular solar eclipse this week is also expected to see thousands of tourists flocking to Zimbabwe to witness the natural phenomenon.
The eclipse provides Zimbabwe with yet another great opportunity to market itself. If the industry gets its act together tourists might be convinced to stay beyond the eclipse period to enjoy the wonderful hospitality, wildlife and the other natural wonders that the country has to offer.
The last few years have proved that Zimbabwe's tourism industry should never rely on tourists from the few source markets. It has to widen its catchment area to include the Far East as well as cultivating domestic tourism.
Because of the fickleness of foreign source markets, some hotels and tour operators found themselves in financial trouble when foreign visitors stayed away because of negative publicity.
Any whiff of trouble in African destinations, no matter how untrue, is enough to scare foreign tourists.
Our industry has, therefore, learnt the hard way that it cannot build its future based on foreign tourists alone but has to encourage the growth of domestic tourism as well.
Most hotels are already full for the coming festive season, not with foreign visitors but Zimbabweans who had been ignored by the tourism industry as it basked in the good times.
The troubled times appear to be over for tourism. Those companies which have weathered the storm can look to the future with hope
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"Ivinicus factus sum veritabem diceus." ( I have become an enemy for speaking the truth ) St Paul!
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Mitayo Potosi
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