Zim-SA cultural heritages to transform tourism and trade

Zimbabwe (Bulawayo) and South Africa (KwaZulu Natal) will benefit from their cultural heritage and related exchange programmes which are set to be synthesised through trade and tourism; Durban Direct member, Thulisile Galelekile has said.


Speaking in Harare this Tuesday during an investment engagement to boost trade and tourism, Galelekile who is also an Executive Manager for Strategy, Operations, Trade and Investment in KwaZulu Natal has described that heterogeneity between some cultures in Zimbabwe and South Africa would help in economically transform the two nations through cultural inbreeding and cross breeding.

"As you are aware, there are striking similarities between Zimbabwe and South African culture which when specifically packaged, would triplicate in giving value through trade and tourism. This would be complemented through packaging culture as a commodity for trade and tourism for revenue generation," Thulisile Galelekile has said.

"Languages, traditional values (as expressed through music and dances), norms and beliefs amongst the two nations would be redefined, packaged and exhibited. The heritage sites would therefore be curated in such a manner which bring value to trade and tourism sectors through possible investments," Thulisile Galelekile remarks.

The Durban Direct in partnership with Fastjet hosted these investment and engagement events to stimulate and grow trade and tourism, an initiative that brought in [Zimbabwe] about 11 KwaZulu-Natal-based business operators from different sectors including retail, manufacturing, agriculture and mining.

The event is set to create a platform for business-to-business engagement to promote investment, trade and tourism as well as grow and sustain air connectivity between Bulawayo and Durban.

Meanwhile, South African ambassador to Zimbabwe, Rejoice Mabudafhasi has commented the initiative as complementing relations between Pretoria and Harare (South Africa and Zimbabwe respectively).

"These initiatives are really important in realising the ties between our two countries through packaging our cultural heritage for trade and tourism," Mabudafhasi said.

"It gives an opportunity for inclusivity, engagement and business investment amongst our nations," Mabudafhasi added.

Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister, Barbara Rwodzi, has on various occasions appealed to stakeholders in the tourism industry to remit tourism levies to the Government and help to market Zimbabwe as a destination of choice.

"It is a charge that you put on tourists and remit it to us. You are not paying the money which the tourist is giving you. The law says a tourist has to pay a Tourism Levy on the service you are giving them," Rwodzi said then while addressing tourism sector players during a stakeholder consultative workshop on the Tourism Amendment Bill in Victoria Falls.

"Government has entrusted you, but some are not charging that. Our strategy follows the national strategy of President Mnangagwa in his vision for an upper-middle-income society by 2030, so business should contribute to that," Rwodzi said then.