News / National
Roadblock cuts good for tourism
06 Jul 2017 at 14:41hrs | Views
Listed hospitality giant, African Sun Limited (ASL), has applauded government for directing the police to reduce the number of roadblocks on the country's highways saying it will open up the eastern border city to tourists.
Visitors to the mountainous city were going through as many as 14 check points during their 260km journey from Harare, according to the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, which had made the region unattractive to tourists.
ASL managing director Edwin Shangwa said by slashing the number of roadblocks to four per province, travel to the eastern region will improve.
"The streamlining of police roadblocks to allow the smooth movement of tourists by road will make Mutare attractive as a tourist destination," he said during the re-branding of ASL's Amber Hotel to Holiday Inn Mutare at the weekend.
The Eastern Highlands operates several world-class tourist attractions.
But unlike other tourist attractions such as the Great Zimbabwe, Kariba and Victoria Falls, which enjoy air connectivity, the region is only accessible by road.
The heavy presence of traffic police had therefore made the area unattractive to visitors, dealing a hammer blow to sites such as Mt Inyangani, Mtarazi Falls, Vumba, Chimanimani Mountain range, Chirinda Forest in Chipinge and several game reserves.
To encourage bookings, a popular hotel in the Vumba area was said to have promised to refund its clients any of the often-frivolous police fines issued upon checking in into the hotel.
The Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) recently bemoaned the prevalence of police on highways, saying this was giving the impression that the country was not at peace.
ZNCC chief executive officer Chris Mugaga said Zimbabwe had one of the highest number of police roadblocks in Africa, now comparable to Mali, which in 2011, was the worst at 2,5 in every 100km.
"As of December 2015, there were still at least 20 road blocks between Beitbridge - on the border of Zimbabwe and South Africa - and the resort town of Victoria Falls. This implies 2,5 roadblocks every 100km," Mugaga said.
Transport operators had to down their tools recently in protest over the heavy police presence on the country's roads, also alleging they were extorting money from them.
Never Jekese, an economist, said the police road blocks were sending the wrong message to investors and visitors for an industry which has the potential to generate $5 billion annually.
"We may complain about having a good image internationally but the sheer number of police roadblocks tells all visitors that there is something wrong going on apart from pushing the cost of doing business," Jekese said.
Visitors to the mountainous city were going through as many as 14 check points during their 260km journey from Harare, according to the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, which had made the region unattractive to tourists.
ASL managing director Edwin Shangwa said by slashing the number of roadblocks to four per province, travel to the eastern region will improve.
"The streamlining of police roadblocks to allow the smooth movement of tourists by road will make Mutare attractive as a tourist destination," he said during the re-branding of ASL's Amber Hotel to Holiday Inn Mutare at the weekend.
The Eastern Highlands operates several world-class tourist attractions.
But unlike other tourist attractions such as the Great Zimbabwe, Kariba and Victoria Falls, which enjoy air connectivity, the region is only accessible by road.
The heavy presence of traffic police had therefore made the area unattractive to visitors, dealing a hammer blow to sites such as Mt Inyangani, Mtarazi Falls, Vumba, Chimanimani Mountain range, Chirinda Forest in Chipinge and several game reserves.
To encourage bookings, a popular hotel in the Vumba area was said to have promised to refund its clients any of the often-frivolous police fines issued upon checking in into the hotel.
The Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) recently bemoaned the prevalence of police on highways, saying this was giving the impression that the country was not at peace.
ZNCC chief executive officer Chris Mugaga said Zimbabwe had one of the highest number of police roadblocks in Africa, now comparable to Mali, which in 2011, was the worst at 2,5 in every 100km.
"As of December 2015, there were still at least 20 road blocks between Beitbridge - on the border of Zimbabwe and South Africa - and the resort town of Victoria Falls. This implies 2,5 roadblocks every 100km," Mugaga said.
Transport operators had to down their tools recently in protest over the heavy police presence on the country's roads, also alleging they were extorting money from them.
Never Jekese, an economist, said the police road blocks were sending the wrong message to investors and visitors for an industry which has the potential to generate $5 billion annually.
"We may complain about having a good image internationally but the sheer number of police roadblocks tells all visitors that there is something wrong going on apart from pushing the cost of doing business," Jekese said.
Source - dailynews
