Body calls for ‘night tourism’

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EMPLOYERS’ Association of Tourism and Safari Operators (Eatso) has called on the government to allow the viewing of tourism attraction centres at night to further boost the industry as well as increase expenditure for stakeholders.

EMPLOYERS’ Association of Tourism and Safari Operators (Eatso) has called on the government to allow the viewing of tourism attraction centres at night to further boost the industry as well as increase expenditure for stakeholders.

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In an interview with Southern Eye Business, Eatso president Clement Mukwasi said the government should promote night tourism, saying at the moment all activities were done during the day.

“Since we hosted UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organisation) general assembly last August, people have shifted focus to Victoria Falls and they have started considering it as a tourist destination.

“We have noticed a surge in the domestic market as well as increase in traditional markets,” he said.

“The number of people coming into Victoria Falls is increasing, but the expenditure is lagging behind and we want to work on that.

“As a nation we should consider people touring at night to increase expenditure and would like to urge concerned authorities to take that into consideration.”

Mukwasi said every tourist that visited Victoria Falls for the first time would want to visit the rainforest and this attraction could be viewed at night.

He predicted that by end of this month the sector would achieve 20% of tourist arrivals compared to last year during the same period.

He said during winter their main arrivals were from South Africa as well as Asian and Spanish markets.

His sentiments come at a time when Zimbabwe is set to host the Sadc Heads of State and government summit next week.

The summit will be held between August 17 and 18, but will be preceded by the meeting of Council of ministers between August 14 and 15.

More than 600 high-level delegates are expected to attend the summit.

The theme for this year’s summit is “Sadc strategy for economic transformation: Leveraging the region’s diverse resources for sustainable economic and social development through beneficiation and value addition”.