Policy Tourism Act (Chapter 14:20)

Zimbabwe is a sub - tropical, landlocked country located in the centre of Southern Africa. The five major land use types that exist in Zimbabwe an agriculture, mining, forestry, manufacturing and tourism. Zimbabwe is richly' endowed with natural resources. Over 13% of the country's total land area is se aside for national or wildlife recreational parks. The tourist attractions in Zimbabwe include Victoria Falls (one of the Seven Wonders of the World) Great Zimbabwe, Lake Kariba, Eastern Highlands, Matopos, and an abundance of wildlife.

In Zimbabwe and since independence in 1980, tourism has been one of the fastest growing economic sectors. With its vast natural and cultural resources the potential for further rapid growth for this sector in Zimbabwe is very high. Zimbabwe's tourism industry has grown based on a guiding principle of high value low volume tourism. Historically the tourism sector was a preserve of a minority sector (whites) of the society, focusing more on a smaller segment of the market and heavily dependent on the western traditional markets. Against this background thus tourism policy envisages diversification and new initiative towards making tourism the catalyst for economic development. It will guide ii opening up the sector to new source markets, diversifying the product base and above all, encourage participation by the majority of the Zimbabweans.

An important thrust of the policy will be to use tourism as a tool for poverty alleviation and sustainable economic development. The policy will guide the development of Community Based Tourism (CBT), Tourism Development Zone (TDZs) and TransFrontier Conservation Areas (TFCAs) and will recognize tourism as an important land use option. The policy is expected to level the playing field for all players in the tourism sector, articulate the government' vision for the tourism sector, define specific objectives for tourism development and guide the preservation of Zimbabwe's environmental and cultural resources.