Zimbabwe OKs resumption of tourism sector

The tourism sector in Zimbabwe has been given the green light to resume operations.

HikerZW party on the summit of Ngomakurira in Dombosahava, Zimbabwe

This was announced by the Minister of Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hosptiality Mangaliso Ndlovu in a press conference held on Thursday.

He said:

I am therefore pleased to announce that following Cabinet approval, all Tourism activities can now resume operations. These include but are not limited to: game drives, bungee jumping, zip liners, helicopter rides, lion walks, elephant rides and all registered tourism activities. For the avoidance of doubt, this also includes the resumption of boat operations on our lakes both for tourism and fishing (and other tourism related activities), in strict compliance with Covid-19 Pandemic Guidelines which have been developed. I mention this particularly because in areas such as Kariba, the Boating Industry is a key anchor of their tourism industry for both leisure and fishing.

On the safety protocols, Ndlovu said that there would be intensified compliance checks for the health and safety of workers and those using the facilities.

For now all tourism players must go to their drawing boards and begin the process of re-
opening our facilities, ensure all our staff are tested prior to commencement and that the guidelines which were developed are religiously followed. Industry must therefore invest in and ensure safeoperations through protocols such as temperature check points, contact tracing, recording on arrival of guests, physical distancing markings at their premises, deep cleaning and disinfection of the facility among many others.

Ndlovu also confirmed that domestic and international airports would be opened soon with an announcement from the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Development due soon.

Of course any progress is good to have but all this needs a relaxation of the curfew which currently starts at 8 and ends at 6.

If you are to go fishing, it is known that you have to be on site at 4am which is during curfew times.

If you should decide for a hike and see the sunset at Ngomakurira then with that ends at about 7pm which means the manic trek back home can be problematic.

So an enhancement there is necessary.