Zimbabwe’s government has designated the Victoria Falls-Hwange-Binga-Kariba tourism corridor as a special economic zone.
Under the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) Bill, approved by Parliament and awaiting Presidential assent, SEZs will enjoy special economic policies and flexible governmental measures to encourage development of integrated parks in all the provinces as well as infrastructure improvement.
Operators in the tourism corridor highlighted that if passed into law and implemented on international best practice, the SEZ designation would boost tourism.
Wenhau Safaris and Tours’ Wengayi Nhau emphasised that the policy would work in favour of the industry only if implemented timeously. He said government could produce good policies on paper but failed to deliver on implementation.
“If implemented well, the SEZ will encourage investment into the Victoria Falls-Hwange-Binga-Kariba areas, as some areas like Hwange are not yet fully utilised.” He said, for example, fishing resorts like Mlibizi were underutilised. He said SEZs had the potential to increase the country’s product profile.
Nhau also argued that developing more activities would encourage tourists to extend their stay in Zimbabwe, in turn translating into more revenue.
Shearwater Spokesperson, Clement Mukwasi, said by declaring the corridor an SEZ would attract international investors to develop infrastructure like the Hwange National Park airport. “If the airport is refurbished, we can even have direct flights to and from the national park, which has a 4km-long runway, and this will boost tourism in the area,” he said.
African Bush Camps CEO Beks Ndlovu highlighted the need to also encourage development of the Eastern Highlands. He also said more needs to be done to attract investment into the tourism sector, which is responsible for creating the highest number of jobs.
