The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) has outlined a detailed roadmap for building the newly launched national chapters of Women in Tourism and Youth in Tourism, following the selection of pioneering National Executives at a gathering held at the RTG Hotel in Harare on Wednesday.
ZTA Chief Executive Officer Dr G. Manyaya was unable to attend the event, and his way-forward address was read on his behalf by Secretary for Tourism and Hospitality Industry Dr Tsitsi Munyanyiwa.
In the address, Dr Manyaya said the executive committees of the Women in Tourism Network, the Women in Tourism Chamber, the Youth in Tourism Network and the Youth in Tourism Chamber would each receive a draft constitutional framework to adapt and enrich with input from their members, with the Ministry of Tourism and ZTA providing guidance to ensure alignment with national tourism objectives.
He tasked the committees with actively recruiting members across all provinces, prioritising inclusivity and ensuring representation of urban and rural communities, youth, women entrepreneurs and students. Each committee, he added, must also prepare a detailed annual workplan.
In the speech, Dr Manyaya said ZTA would support the creation of a centralised database of members capturing names, contact details, areas of expertise, regions and tourism-related interests, describing it as a resource for networking, collaboration and monitoring growth across the structures.
On leadership and coordination, he said the executive committees would drive the constitution formulation process in consultation with members, while the Ministry of Tourism and ZTA would act as facilitators, providing technical support and scheduling regular progress reviews to track milestones.
He announced that the National Executive would be formally launched during this year’s Sanganai/Hlanganani/Dzimbahwe World Tourism Expo in Masvingo.
The launch formed part of Government’s broader tourism agenda under the National Development Strategy 2 and Vision 2030, noting that international tourist arrivals rose 11 percent in the first quarter of the year, from 347,555 to 384,561, while domestic tourism trips grew 35 percent, from 1.94 million to 2.62 million. Tourism investment, she said, increased by 438 percent over the same period.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Zimbabwe Youth Council, speaking on behalf of the Permanent Secretary for Youth Empowerment, Development and Vocational Training, pledged support for the new structures’ formal registration and institutional development, while Permanent Secretary for Women Affairs Dr Mavis Sibanda said the platform would give women across the tourism value chain a stronger voice in policy engagement, advocacy and business development.
With the constitutional and membership groundwork now set in motion, attention turns to Masvingo, where the National Executive is expected to be officially unveiled at the World Tourism Expo.
