Low visitors at Rhodes Nyanga Museum, a microcosm of poor tourist arrivals

The occupation of Zimbabwe’s Mashonaland in 1890 by the British South Africa Company (BSAC) led by Cecil John Rhodes, saw a young official, James MacDonald and surveyor, Piggot being sent to the then Inyanga (renamed Nyanga after Zimbabwe independence in 1980). Inspired by MacDonald, Rhodes first visited Nyanga in 1896. He was attracted to cool climate, rugged and isolated landscapes of Nyanga, which saw him acquiring 100 000 acres of land.

He got involved in farming in the area in 1897 and last visited Nyanga in 1900, two years before his death in Cape Colony, South Africa.

A Rhodes Nyanga Museum, situated next to Rhodes Nyanga Hotel, the oldest hotel in the area, attracts the interest of tourists both domestic and foreign.

Eco-Tourism Expert’s Mathew Nyaungwa, who recently travelled to Nyanga with a group of local tourists, spoke with the museum curator Marshel Nyanhanda about the state of tourism in Nyanga, which has a direct impact on their operations.

He is of the view that Nyanga tourism is on the decline due to the harsh economic conditions currently being experienced in the country.

As the Rhodes Nyanga Museum curator, what is your take on the state of tourism in Nyanga?

The tourism industry is suffering; it is currently low in Nyanga. Here at the [Rhodes Nyanga] Museum where I work, since January to December, we have been struggling to get visitors.

Who mainly paid a visit to the museum during this period?

Mostly our visitors were school children on school trips, mainly from Harare and other parts of the country.  

 Are foreign tourists visiting the museum as well?

Regarding foreign visitors, very few of them are coming. I used to get more foreign visitors from August to October and then partly November, but this year I only recorded very few foreign visitors.

 How many did you receive this year?

I only received less than 20 foreign tourists. So for now we are getting mainly local visitors.

Where did the foreign tourists come from?

[They came mainly] from Australia, German, Netherlands, UK and the US.

Which period did you use to record high volumes?

Easter holiday (usually between March and April) and August. From September to November it will be usually a season for school trips to Nyanga. During this period, we often see a lot of schools coming to the museum. However, we received very few buses this year.

Are tour operators not bringing local tourists as well apart from the school children?

The traveling agencies are also bringing visitors, but not as many as we used to get, like three to four years ago.

What has changed, why are you all of a sudden not receiving more tourists?

I think the economic situation in Zimbabwe is not suitable for people to travel, fuel (if available) is expensive. Everything; accommodation and food is very expensive. ‘Nobody’ has money to buy fuel to travel to Nyanga and to pay for accommodation. Some places are charging thousands of dollars in local currency per night and not a lot of people are being paid that kind of money, unless you are working for a big company. Such people earning a lot of money are very few. So it’s about the economic situation, nothing else.

Is Nyanga being promoted as a tourist destination by government?

If this place had been marketed as they market Victoria Falls, we should be getting more and more people. This place is so beautiful and many exciting activities. We have Mutarazi skywalk, the zipline, the falls as well, the mountain and the museums, et cetera. People would like to see where Cecil John Rhodes used to stay and what is left. So I think if they marketed this place as they market Victoria Falls, we should have expanded hotels and lodges in Nyanga as more tourists will visit this place.