Can tourism rescue Zimbabwe from its economic crisis? – US publication says it is

Plenty of challenges continue to threaten these gains in Zimbabwe, which was ranked 127 out of 141 countries on the World Economic Forum’s latest Global Competitiveness Report.

Corruption is rife — the country slipped three places to 160 out of 180 nations on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index.

Power cuts have become a part of daily life. And given the country’s history of sudden, seismic shifts in macroeconomic policy — from reintroducing an independent currency this year after using the US dollar for a decade to the ban on accepting dollars — it’s hard to say with confidence how long the current tourism-friendly policies will continue.

Still, for the moment, those in the industry appear optimistic.

Kennedy says that while the power cuts are a major hassle, his “guests don’t have a clue the power’s gone off” because “we have plans in place.”

For now those plans involve diesel generators, but his company is looking at taking advantage of the duty rebate to install a 500 kVA solar plant (price tag: $600 000) that will meet all of its power needs and even let it sell power back to the national grid.

Corruption, competitiveness and the economy will be harder to fix, but the government has realized, says Munyenyiwa, that tourism is “the quickest way to create jobs and bring in foreign currency”.

Victoria Falls — twice as high and 500 yards wider than Niagara Falls, with the added bonus of elephants and lions roaming its shores — stands testament to that.- Ozy

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