The tourism sector in Zimbabwe is being adversely affected by the heavy police presence on the country’s highways, with operators saying the self-drive market has been the worst hit.
Africa Albida Tourism Chief Executive, Ross Kennedy, says there is no question that the overwhelming prevalence of police roadblocks is negatively impacting tourism in the country as the local self-drive market is frustrated by the number of roadblocks on a long journey.
“Even if one is not fined, and that is a rare exception, the added time delay is an irritant in itself. Imagine two to five minutes at up to 40 roadblocks between Harare and Victoria Falls; that is between one and two hours added to your already lengthy journey,” Kennedy said, adding that even a simple weekend day trip to Mazvikadei Dam can encounter up to 10 roadblocks.
According to tourism operators, when marketing the destination, they encounter comments about the difficulty of driving through Zimbabwe and being subjected to that kind of harassment with visitors saying they would rather go to Namibia or Botswana.
Employers Association of Safari and Tourism Operators President, Clement Mukwasi, said the police needed to adopt international standards of policing to avoid stifling the tourism industry's growth, while Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe (HAZ) President, George Manyumwa, has also warned that the issue is hurting tourism.
“It doesn't promote friendly tourism at all,” said Manyumwa. “We are appealing to the authorities concerned to reduce the number of roadblocks so that tourists visiting the country will take less time on the roads,” he said.
The sector has engaged government via official channels including the Tourism Ministry, Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, and Zimbabwe Council for Tourism as well as at the Ease of Doing Business workshop facilitated by Office of the President and Cabinet towards the end of last year.
Kennedy revealed that Victoria Falls, Hwange, Matopos and Kariba/ Mana Pools were exceptionally busy with self-drive guests in past years but that market is now a trickle in comparison.
