BULAWAYO — Finance and Economic Development minister Patrick Chinamasa has said the country’s tourism industry has undervalued national tourism assets such as the museums and monuments that need to be rebranded.
BY WINSTONE ANTONIO
Chinamasa, who was the guest of honour at the official opening of this year’s edition of Sanganai/Hlanganani World Tourism Expo that ended yesterday, said there was need to rebrand and market the institutions.
“We have assets such as our rich arts and culture we need to package these assets, brand them and sell them. We have assets such as museums and monuments whenever our international buyers come here, they don’t talk much about monuments and our museums,” he said.
“There is a rich history in our museums and we also, as a country, need to package and sell these assets.”
National Museums and Monuments clinched four awards for the Best Green Tourism Stand, the Best Public Institution Stand, Best Zimbabwe Stand and Best Overall Stand.
In a recent interview with NewsDay, national museums’ northern region director Godhi Bvocho said interest in the museums and monuments site was rising, with over 70% locals visiting the sites for pleasure or using them for key lifetime events such as weddings and other private functions.
“People should make use of our museums, as they are integral in the day-to-day human life since they preserve identity covering a broad spectrum of the past, present and future,” he said.
