By Dumisani Ndlela in Harare. A major economic and political crisis and a stand-off with the international community over human rights issues has battered Zimbabwe"s once-promising tourism industry. To rescue the situation from further decline, Zimbabwe"s government and tourism players have struggled with a number of efforts that have so far yielded little success.
The government is also calling for foreign investors into the tourism sector. 'We believe this will enhance our capacity to enter into business ventures and also attract foreign direct investment," said Minister of Tourism Nhema.
The poor fortunes have impacted negatively on investment in the sector. Again in January this year, Nhema designated Tourism Development Zones (TDZ), saying this would help prop up the struggling tourism sector.
'To fast-track tourism development in specific areas that will have been identified to have the potential, government has come up with the concept of Tourism Development Zones," Nhema said.
Under the TDZ facility, investors will enjoy tax holidays and duty exemptions on goods imported for use in the TDZs.
The government recently set aside Z$190 billion for the renovation of lodges at two national parks, Gonarezhou and Hwange.

Boom in Zambia
Zambia"s tourist arrivals are on an upward spiral, gaining from Zimbabwe"s five-year loses as tourists shun the troubled southern African country troubled by its worst ever economic crisis since independence in 1980.
South Africa is aggressively taking advantage of the poor fortunes by its northern neighbor by marketing the Victoria Falls resort, attracting visitors who would otherwise have come to Zimbabwe to watch the world"s seven wonders.
When visitors to the Victoria Falls come through South Africa, they only fly for a few hours into the country without spending on hotel and other costs in Zimbabwe, depriving the country of much-needed foreign currency receipts.
The number of tourists visiting Zambia have more than quadrupled over the last five years, improvement revenues from the sector to well over US$150 million as tourists now prefer to visit Zambia instead of Zimbabwe, far higher than revenues earned by the country prior to a plunge in Zimbabwe"s tourism fortunes.
Already, Zambia"s Ministry of Tourism has embarked on a campaign to increase tourist numbers, and is aiming at reaching an annual tourist arrival figure of one million visitors per year.
A total of 610.109 tourists visited Zambia in 2004, with the figure expected to be high for 2005. This compared to about 160.000 tourist arrivals in Zambia before Zimbabwe"s tourism industry began suffering due to the political and economic crisis.
During the last quarter of 2005, the busiest period in the country"s tourism calendar, tourist arrivals plunged 27%, according to figures from ZTA. The ZTA said the trend was likely to continue this year.