The Sunday News
Roberta Katunga Senior Business Reporter
TOURISM operators in Victoria Falls have introduced four new activities as a measure to increase bed nights in the country and dispel a myth that the activities in the resort are now tired, it has been learnt.A tour of the resort revealed that test runs for the canopy tours, gorge walks, township tours and European street restaurants are being undertaken in preparation for the festive season.
In separate interviews, the tour operators revealed that the additional activities had generated a lot of interest as the town continued to see new trends in business.
Speaking while at the top of the Batoka gorges after having taken clients for a gorge walk, an operations manager with a local rafting company, Mr Cephas Moyo, said the new activities had become a hit with tourists as most of the visitors who came to the Victoria Falls were repeat guests.
“The gorge walk is a health walk that is undertaken down in the gorges at the bottom of the waterfall. It has become a hit with tourists and the bookings are seriously competing with rafting which also starts round about the same area,” he said.
Speaking on the European street restaurant style that Shearwater Adventures recently established in the heart of the town centre, public relations manager Mr Clement Mukwasi, said the Netherlands style of restaurant involves tourists eating in open air while gazing at the stars and enjoying the breeze from the Falls.
“We have established a street restaurant similar to what one would find in the Netherlands where tourists would have their food literally on the edge of the streets while guides educate them about stars,” said Mr Mukwasi.
He said the restaurant catered for clientele who enjoy particular dishes and had been fully booked ever since its establishment.
Speaking on township tours, Venneto Safaris managing director, Mr Victor Sibanda, said their test run for the activity had proved to be very likeable and that it was complementing village tours which had been running for 10 years.
According to the operators, an overflow of visitors during the Sadc summit held last month created demand for the activity as tourists became interested in seeing how locals live.
“This idea came about as a result of demand by tourists who wanted to see how our people live and they would be having limited time which would not allow them to go into the rural areas.
The township tours are complementing village tours and very soon, we will be commissioning the activity. Before the end of the year, most operators will have incorporated this new activity into their marketing brochures,” he said.
Mr Sibanda said the township tours were also important as they helped dispel misconceptions about the safety of the destination as well as involving locals in the activities thus creating more jobs.
On the canopy tours, Wild Horizons operators said the activity was added to complement other adrenaline activities like the flying fox, zipline and gorge swings.
Done 600 metres from the Victoria Falls entrance at a depth of 120 metres, canopy tours involve canopying from one tree to the next into the gorge.
“This activity is getting popular as it is between the extreme and the easy and can be done by all age groups. It is also a catch as tourists get to enjoy the full view of the gorge and its surroundings while enjoying the adrenaline rush,” said one of the tour guides.
The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority is on record saying it is imperative to introduce more activities that tourists can enjoy as it gives them a reason to stay longer and keep visiting the destination.
The tourism authority urged tour operators to be innovative and work together in coming up with packages that are safe and can boost the tourism sector and the economy at large.
