Ngoni Dapira

THE Eastern Highlands pre-tours of the 18th edition of the Sanganai/Hlanganani/Kumbanayi World Tourism Expo that have been underway since last Saturday are promising to breathe new life into the Eastern bloc’s tourism Easterntimeszim has learnt.

Manicaland is hosting the world class tourism showcase for the first time after government decided to decentralise it and host the event on rotation countrywide. Several international buyers that this publication talked to are calling the Eastern Highlands a ‘sleeping giant’ awaiting to be ‘awakened’ after promoting its hidden gems.

The official opening ceremony and exhibition of the Sanganai/ Hlanganani/ Kumbanayi World Travel Expo will run from  today (Wednesday) up to Friday at Mutare Sports Club. International buyers attending the event arrived into the country last week Friday in Harare and flew to Mutare on Saturday where they went out for pre-tours for four days going round various destinations in the province in Honde Valley, Vumba, Nyanga and Chimanimani. The official opening today at Mutare Sports Club will be officiated by His Excellency President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

450 exhibitors and 95 buyers, including 83 internationals and 12 locals confirmed their participation at this year’s tourism expo. There are tour operators and exhibitors from the United States which is the biggest international market for wildlife tourism, the United Kingdom, India, South Korea, Japan, China, Sweden and regionally Botswana and South Africa to mention a few.

Some international buyers from India joined in the celebrations at Grand Reef Aerodrome last Saturday as people celebrated the maiden flight landing at the aerodrome.

Speaking at Grand Reef Aerodrome in Mutare last week Saturday the Tourism and Hospitality Minister Barbra Rwodzi welcomed the guests as they trickled in using direct flights from Harare-Mutare that are being re-introduced for the first time after independence in 1980 at the former Rhodesian Forces military airbase. This year’s tourism expo is running under the theme, “Devolving Sustainable Tourism Development-Our Future.”

Min Rwodzi said Zimbabwe in 2025 has been rated as ‘the top must visit country in Africa’, which is why they want to extensively market and promote all the country’s tourism destinations and not just the prime tourism attractions like Victoria Falls. She cited that one way of achieving this is by decentralising national and global tourism promotions like the Sanganai/Hlanganani World Travel Expo that used to hosted by Bulawayo for the past 17 years.

“I am proud to announce that Zimbabwe in 2025 is rated the must visit country in Africa. This comes at a good time. However, where they are saying Zimbabwe must be visited in 2025, we are saying we do not just want them to visit our prime destinations like Victoria Falls, but we want to revive and give publicity to our destinations like the Eastern Highlands coined the Switzerland of Africa by Europeans because of its beautiful mountainous terrains and breathtaking views that leave lasting impressions just like the Switzerland landscape,” said Min Rwodzi.

Zimbabwe was named the top must-visit country in the world for 2025 by the global travel platform Kayak according to its Travel Check-in report, positioning it as a prime destination for its stunning natural beauty, from Victoria Falls to its diverse safari experiences and its rich historical sites like Great Zimbabwe and the Matobo National Park,  both UNESCO World Heritage sites.

The ranking shows destinations that balance adventure with relaxation whilst factoring in everything from wellness escapes and city-hopping potential to opportunities for slow, low-intensity travel. Morocco was also named as another top must visit country in Africa.

Direct Air Connectivity to Mutare at Grand Reef Aerodrome the game changer.

Min Rwodzi added that the Eastern Highlands is the second biggest tourist destination after Victoria Falls urging tour operators in the county to make use of the country’s many historical, cultural and heritage sites by turning them into economic tourism benefits.

She said government initiatives such as the re-establishment of direct air connectivity to Mutare as well as the decentralisation of national tourism promotion events, would be transformational in unlocking more revenue from the tourism sector in Manicaland, in-turn creating jobs and improving the lives of locals, which is the backbone of the 2030 agenda enshrined in the National Development Strategy (NDS)1 and its replacement NDS2 that will start next year.

“A lot of British tourists have over the year’s been calling for direct flights to Manicaland from Bulawayo where they mostly visit to see the grave of Cecil John Rhodes at Matopos. In tourism we want to tap this potential market. When we went to London for some event that is when I was told about this and the interests of some British tourists in cultural tourism to see where their venerated colonialist Rhodes was laid to rest in Matopos and where he stayed for a long time in Nyanga,” she said.

Adding, “Now that we are to have direct flights to Mutare I will market this as we tap into that British market. I will go there before the end of this year and tell them about the new direct flights to Mutare from Bulawayo.”

The famous British colonist in the 1880s, Rhodes was buried on Malindidzimu, also called “World’s View,” a granite hill in Matobo National Park in Bulawayo. The site was considered sacred by local indigenous people. Rhodes requested to be buried there, a decision that is seen by many as a symbol of colonial triumph, but has also become a significant tourist attraction and a site for historical reflection. The location offers breathtaking views of the park and is steeped in both colonial and indigenous history.

Other prominent early white settlers, including Sir Charles Coghlan, Sir Leander Starr Jameson,  Allan Wilson and the Shangani Patrol, are also buried on the summit of Malindidzimu.

Part of Rhode’s belongings in the Rhodes Museum in Nyanga.

However, in Nyanga Rhodes established an estate in the late 1890s, purchasing land to build a retreat and direct agricultural experiments with crops and livestock. This estate in Nyanga National Park became the basis for the Rhodes Nyanga Hotel and the Rhodes Nyanga Historical Exhibition, preserving his legacy and the agricultural development of the area.

On his death in 1902, his Nyanga estate was bequeathed in trust to the nation. At Rhodes Museum there are some of his personal belongings exhibited such as his bed, bath soap, some of his clothes and shoes and kitchen utensils like his cups to mention a few things. The Hotel was renovated but the museum has been kept as it was.

Udu Lodge in Nyanga tour guide Angeline Chitate said a lot of foreign white tourists love visiting and camping at the Rhodes camp site.

“Most of the white tourists that come visit the Rhodes Hotel love to stay at the camp site even though we have a hotel with lovely exquisite rooms, probably they want to get a real feel of the nature and tranquil environment,” she said.