Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Hon. Barbara Rwodzi has positioned heritage as a strategic national asset and a frontline defence against cultural erosion, urging military planners from seven African nations to treat identity preservation as a matter of state security.
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Read E-PaperAddressing participants of the National Defence Course 15/2026 at the Zimbabwe National Defence University (ZNDU) yesterday, Hon. Rwodzi said the Culture and Heritage Cluster, anchored by the Nhaka Yedu, Ilifa Lethu, Our Heritage campaign, was the key instrument for advancing President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s Heritage-Based Development philosophy under NDS2 and Vision 2030.
“Zimbabwe’s heritage is a strategic national asset that must be protected, celebrated and shared with the world,” Hon. Rwodzi told the course participants drawn from Botswana, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Speaking under the theme “Preservation and State Identity: The Adoption of a Heritage-Based Tourism Cluster Approach to Foster National Identity and Prevent Cultural Erosion”, the Minister outlined the six Tourism Policy pillars and the Cluster approach as a framework for diversifying the sector and broadening economic opportunities across Nature and Wildlife, Rural, MICE, Sports and Religious Tourism.
She cited Victoria Falls, Great Zimbabwe and the Eastern Highlands as flagship attractions, while pointing to cultural festivals, mbira, the National Fabric, Township Tourism, Gastronomy Tourism and indigenous products such as Mapfura wine, Matamba and Mawuyu juices as important expressions of Zimbabwean identity.
“The Culture and Heritage Cluster, anchored by the Nhaka Yedu, Ilifa Lethu, Our Heritage campaign, is a key instrument for advancing His Excellency President Cde. Dr. E.D. Mnangagwa’s Heritage-Based Development philosophy under NDS2 and Vision 2030,” she said.
Explaining tourism’s expanding contribution to economic development and soft diplomacy, Hon. Rwodzi revealed that 6.4 million domestic tourism trips were recorded in the first half of 2026, tourism receipts rose by 6 percent, and investment grew by 229 percent.
She said the figures affirmed that heritage was not merely a cultural concern but a strategic national asset.
