The Sunday News
Mehluli Sibanda, Senior Sports Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Tourism Authority has stepped up its domestic tourism marketing efforts by partnering with Sports Tourism Inc to hold the Victoria Falls Sports Tourism Experience which is set for 24 to 26 September in the resort City.
ZTA head of corporate affairs, Godfrey Koti said they saw this as an opportunity to market sport, with the sports festival to assist in boosting the domestic drive that is underway.
“We were approached by Sports Inc to partner them in this initiative and we were immediately impressed. We saw an opportunity to market the destination using sport. The festival will help us propel the domestic tourism drive that is currently underway, ZimBho campaign,’’ said Koti.
“The Sports Tourism concept is now a big product across the globe. We believe that there is a massive opportunity for collaboration with sport to further reach critical masses. This will allow us to position Zimbabwe as a must visit destination for both local and international tourists,” he added.
Sporting codes that include golf, tennis, mountain biking, marathon and aerobic events, all of which will be hosted at various venues with the adequate protocols in place to ensure Covid-19 regulations are being observed and implemented will make up the Sports Tourism Experience.
The objective of the festival is to promote sports tourism, market destination Zimbabwe and create sustainable development for marginalised communities in resort towns.
“Our aim with developing the Sports Tourism Experience is to help revive domestic tourism, and support the continued collaborative efforts of the government and the private sector to spur on the recovery of tourism,” says Malvin Kanjere, PR and marketing director of Ecotourism Africa and Sports Tourism Inc.
“We have been fortunate to collaborate with a diverse array of partners and sponsors to make this happen because we are all focused on the same goal: enhancing domestic tourism and supporting the recovery efforts” he added.
Before the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic, sports tourism was becoming one of the fastest growing sectors of the global travel industry.
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