Zimbabwe should stop marketing tourism destinations in isolation and instead promote interconnected circuits that encourage visitors to travel across the country and extend their stays, ZimParks spokesperson Luckmore Safuli has said.
Speaking at the Sanganai/Hlanganani Dzimbahwe Tourism Expo in Masvingo, Safuli said packaging destinations into circuits would boost visitor spending while creating opportunities for businesses and communities along the routes.
“Our message is simple. We need to move away from the idea of selling individual destinations and focus more on what we are calling tourism circuits. By tourism circuits, we are referring to a collection of destinations where we can maximise and make sure visitors stay longer in our country. When they do so, it means more revenue for the country,” Safuli said.
He said Zimbabwe already had established tourism routes that could be developed into attractive packages for international and domestic travellers, citing the Northern Circuit as an example. Under this model, a tourist could land in Victoria Falls, travel to Binga for water-based activities, proceed to Zambezi National Park and then continue to Kariba.
Such routes, Safuli said, would give visitors a broader Zimbabwean experience while spreading tourism expenditure across several destinations rather than concentrating it in one location.
He stressed that communities and businesses along the corridors must also share in the benefits of increased tourist activity.
“We do not need to leave behind the communities and businesses found along these tourism circuits. We need to ensure that tourism benefits a lot of people and that communities are active participants in the wildlife economy and tourism sector,” he said.
Community participation, he added, was especially critical for people living near protected areas and tourism facilities, describing the approach as consistent with government’s development mantra of leaving no one and no place behind.
Safuli said the circuits also presented investment opportunities for businesses looking to establish tourism-related ventures along the routes, allowing Zimbabwe to sell a complete experience rather than isolated attractions and potentially lengthening visitor stays and the economic returns from each trip.
ZimParks is now encouraging tourism operators, communities and investors to collaborate in developing the circuits and strengthening Zimbabwe’s standing as a competitive nature-based tourism destination.
