Zimbabwe’s tourism industry is undergoing a transformative shift, as the government has placed gastronomy tourism at the heart of its strategy to propel the sector towards new heights.
At the official opening ceremony of the first UN Tourism Regional Tourism Forum on Gastronomy Tourism for Africa, held in the picturesque city of Victoria Falls, Barbara Rwodzi, Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry, outlined the country’s ambitious vision.
“Under the leadership of His Excellency, President E.D. Mnangagwa, in the Second Republic, the strategic vision and aim is for Zimbabwe to attain an upper-middle-income economy by 2030 or earlier,” Minister Rwodzi stated. “The Tourism and Hospitality industry is located within the matrix of chief economic pillars and economic growth accelerators of Zimbabwe, which are key for the attainment of our national strategic vision 2030.”
The minister highlighted the remarkable growth experienced by the tourism sector, with the industry surging to the number one position in the first half of 2024, recording an 83% increase in tourist arrivals. “The objective in the Second Republic is to grow the Tourism and Hospitality Industry beyond the USD 5 billion mark,” she added.
A key aspect of Zimbabwe’s strategy is the focus on heritage-based tourism, which places the country’s unique people, culture, fauna, flora, geology and landscapes at the centre of its comparative advantage. Gastronomy tourism, as a component of this heritage-based approach, has emerged as a robust growth factor for the industry.
“Our strategic doctrine for growing the Tourism and Hospitality industry in Zimbabwe is Heritage-based,” the minister explained. “This is an intuitive doctrine as the Pull Factor in the Tourism and Hospitality industry is the uniqueness of peoples and cultures, fauna, flora, crops, geology (e.g., Victoria Falls- a geological wonder), landscapes, and all these normally positively connive and get expressed in the food we eat and enjoy Gastronomy Tourism.”
The Zimbabwean government has implemented a unique Tourism and Hospitality Industry Cluster Framework, which includes the Culture and Heritage Cluster, under which Gastronomy Tourism is being developed and deployed as a new, innovative and robust growth factor.
The minister also acknowledged the pivotal role played by the First Lady of Zimbabwe, Dr. Auxillia Mnangagwa, in promoting Gastronomy Tourism through initiatives such as traditional Cookout Competitions in all provinces and a Regional Cookout competition in 2023.
The hosting of the inaugural UN Tourism Regional Gastronomy Forum for Africa in Victoria Falls was hailed as a testament to President Mnangagwa’s grand strategic vision for the tourism industry in Zimbabwe, Africa, and the wider world.
The forum is expected to contribute to the development and promotion of gastronomy tourism in Zimbabwe and the African continent.
