BY WINSTONE ANTONIO
A LOIS Chimbangu, the founder of Face of Kariba Trust, an organisation meant to promote Kariba as a tourist and investment destination, through pageantry, arts and events, has set his sight, on reviving the concept albeit with a new focus in line with the current needs of the resort town.
Kariba is among the country’s tourism industry centres with its main attractions being water-based — fishing, game-viewing and house-boating — being the most popular activities.
In an interview with NewsDay Life & Style, Chimbangu, who is also spokesperson for Kariba Publicity Association, said they had been silent but strategising for the comeback in line with tourism promotion.
“We founded the Face of Kariba Trust in 2014 in tandem with the tourism drive aimed at marketing Kariba and the country as a safe tourist destination. We had stopped the pageant due to other concerns, but we are now set to revive it under a different approach which is broader and more accommodative,” he said.
“As part of the revamped concept, we will look at beauty and brains, showbiz, entrepreneurship as a way of promoting tourism and investment. We will run it as an online concept with monthly winners and also offering destination and investment information on Kariba, providing a platform for partners to share and showcase and create talking points to debate issues.”
Chimbangu, who is also Northern Tours & Cruises Company’s managing director, said it was time corporates and the business community embraced and took the concept seriously as part of the on-going efforts by government to promote tourism and the country as a safe tourist destination.
“The revived concept will have a board and executive team to spearhead its promotional operations and will endeavour to attend trade shows and other marketing platforms,” he said.
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“Well-managed promotions can play a fundamental role in the marketing and promotion of brand Zimbabwe that includes cultural heritage and many of its tourist attractions, thereby putting our country on the global map.”
Chimbangu, a former waiter at Caribbea Bay Resort in Kariba, has worked with a number of artistes among them Orchestra Dendera Kings (Central Committee) frontman Allan Chimbetu.
He has organised a number of live concerts, among them dendera singer Sulumani Chimbetu’s first boat cruise show on Lake Kariba.
Follow Winstone on Twitter @widzoanto
