A delegation led by Tourism and Hospitality minister Walter Mzembi last week went to the United States to trade ideas about attracting tourists to the country’s Victoria Falls.
The delegation met officials from Niagara Falls State Park, the Niagara Tourism and Convention Corporation and Delaware North Parks and Resorts.
“It’s amazingly striking to us how similar their strategies are,” said Angela Berti, regional spokeswoman for the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
Both Niagara Falls and the Victoria Falls attract large numbers of American, British and German tourists, noted John H Percy (Jr), president and chief executive officer of Niagara Tourism and Convention Corporation.
“It is by far bigger and greater, but the only difference is we (want to) be able to get tourists (to the falls),” said Walter Mzembi, Zimbabwe’s Tourism and Hospitality minister.
Mzembi said access to Victoria Falls currently is limited. Visitors can view the flowing spectacle but can’t board Maid of the Mist-style boats or approach the falls.
The Tourism minister said Zimbabwe hopes for hotels and restaurants like those in Niagara Falls. He contrasted the natural setting and piecemeal development of the American side with the bursting commercial offerings in Canada, viewing the region as a whole rather than two separate parts.
“Obviously, Canada captured tourism much earlier than America, but also there are positives of the American side,” Mzembi said.
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“You want to keep (nature) for posterity. If one wants to experience the high life, they go to the Canadian side. If one wants wildlife and a balanced ecosystem, they come to the American side.”
“We have the spectacle, but we want to be able to give our tourists the experience,” Mzembi said. “How do you live in (the falls), how do you touch them, how do you feel them?”
