Tourism in Zimbabwe

Tourism in Zimbabwe

Since the Land Reform programme in 2000, tourism in Zimbabwe has steadily declined. After rising during the 1990s, with 1.4 million tourists in 1999, industry figures described a 75% fall in visitors to Zimbabwe in by December 2000, with less than 20% of hotel rooms occupied.cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1220218.stm |title=Sun sets on Zimbabwe tourism |author=Lewis Machipisa |accessdate=2007-11-16] This has had a huge impact on the Zimbabwean economy, where thousands of jobs were lost due to companies closing down or simply being unable to pay staff wages.

Several airlines have also pulled out of Zimbabwe. Australia's QANTAS, Germany's Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines were among the first to pull out and most recently British Airways suspended all direct flights to Harare. [ cite web|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/10/29/wairways129.xml |title=British Airways abandons flights to Zimbabwe |author=Sebastien Berger |accessdate=2007-11-16 ] The country's flagship airline Air Zimbabwe still flies to the United Kingdom but has to make several stops en route for refuelling.

However, Zimbabwe boasts several tourist attractions. Victoria Falls on the Zambezi River, which are shared with Zambia, are located in the north west of Zimbabwe. Before the economic changes, much of the tourism for these locations came to the Zimbabwean side but now Zambia benefits from the tourism. The Victoria Falls National Park is also a tourist attraction in this area and is one of the eight main National Parks in Zimbabwe [ cite web|url=http://www.zimbabwetourism.co.zw/hwange.htm |title=Zimbabwe Tourism Authority |accessdate=2007-11-16 ] , largest of which is Hwange National Park.

The Eastern Highlands are a series of mountainous areas near the border with Mozambique. The highest peak in Zimbabwe, Mount Nyangani at 2593 metres is located here as well as the Bvumba Mountains and the Nyanga National Park. World's View is in these mountains and it is from here that places as far away as 60–70 km are visible and, on clear days, the town of Rusape can be seen.

Zimbabwe is unusual in Africa in that there are a large number of ancient ruined cities built in a unique dry stone style. Possibly the most famous of these are the Great Zimbabwe ruins in Masvingo which survive from the Monomotapa Empire. Other ruins include Khami Ruins, Zimbabwe, Dhlo-Dhlo and Naletale however none of these ruins have received as much publicity as those Great Zimbabwe.

The Matobo Hills are an area of granite kopjes and wooded valleys commencing some 35 kilometres south of Bulawayo, southern Zimbabwe. The Hills were formed over 2000 million years ago with granite being forced to the surface, this has eroded to produce smooth "whaleback dwalas" and broken kopjes, strewn with boulders and interspersed with thickets of vegetation. Mzilikazi, founder of the Ndebele nation, gave the area its name, meaning 'Bald Heads'. They have become famous and a tourist attraction because Cecil John Rhodes famous for his vision that led to foundation of Rhodesia, and other early white pioneers like Leander Starr Jameson are buried in these hills at another site named World's View. [ cite web|url=http://zimbabwe.safari.co.za/spirit-of-zimbabwe.html |title=The Spirit of Matobo |accessdate=2007-11-16 ]

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Zimbabwe — Republic of Zimbabwe …   Wikipedia

  • Tourism in present-day nations and states — Information on tourism by country is available for every country, including both de jure and de facto independent states, inhabited dependent territories, as well as areas of special sovereignty. The entries are listed below.compactTOC2 NOTOC A… …   Wikipedia

  • Zimbabwe Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals — (usually referred to as the ZNSPCA) is a non profit organization dedicated to preventing the abuse of animals.Animal welfare in Zimbabwe was initiated over 80 years ago, some 100 years after the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals… …   Wikipedia

  • Zimbabwe Government of National Unity of 2009 — The Government of National Unity refers to Zimbabwe s coalition government that was formed on 13 February 2009 following the inaugurations of Morgan Tsvangirai as Prime Minister and Thokozani Khuphe and Arthur Mutambara as Deputy Prime Ministers …   Wikipedia

  • Tourism — Tourist redirects here. For other uses, see Tourist (disambiguation). Summer Visitors by Maurice Prendergast (1897) Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defi …   Wikipedia

  • Tourism in Mozambique — Mozambique has excellent tourism assets. The country s natural beauty, wildlife, and historical heritage provide the opportunities for beach, cultural, and eco tourism.Despite its tourism assets and its nearness to South Africa, one of the world… …   Wikipedia

  • Tourism in Malawi — There is considerable potential for tourism in Malawi. The tourist industry has grown greatly since the mid 1970s, and the Malawian government is attempting to expand it further. The tourist sector was badly affected in the 1980s by a economic… …   Wikipedia

  • Outline of Zimbabwe — …   Wikipedia

  • Ministry of Tourism (Zimbabwe) — The Ministry of Tourism is a government ministry, responsible for tourism in Zimbabwe. The incumbent is Walter Mzembi[1]. It oversees: Zimbabwe Tourism Authority References ^ Cabinet sworn in amid chaotic scenes . NewZimbabwe.com. 13 Feb 2009 …   Wikipedia

  • Council of Ministers of Zimbabwe — Zimbabwe This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”