By shadreck Gurenje

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said Zimbabwe is on an irreversible transformative journey of modernisation, industrialisation and development.

Giving his keynote address at the Grand opening of the Hyatt Regency hotel in Harare, President Mnangagwa said the move by The Hyatt hotel chain team has shown faith in the efforts of the Second Republic to grow the tourism and hospitality sector in line with Vision 2030.

“The Hyatt hotel chain team have shown faith in our vision as the second republic. I extend my heartfelt gratitude the Hyatt hotel group for their unwavering commitment to success of this project.

“On behalf of my government, the people of Zimbabwe and the tourism and hospitality sector, I therefore welcome you to Zimbabwe. Under our mantra Zimbabwe is Open for Business, be rest assured that we will continue to be an investment destination where capital, investors and visitors will always be safe.

“Zimbabwe is on an irreversible transformative journey of modernisation, industrialisation and development. The arrival of Hyatt Regency will undoubtedly contribute to our determination to achieve a US $5billion Tourism Economy by 2025 and to accelerate the realisation of our vison to become a prosperous and empowered upper-middle-income economy by 2030;”said President Mnangagwa.

President Mnangagwa also reiterated that the tourism and hospitality industry is a critical cog of Zimbabwe’s national development agenda being the third largest contributor to the national GDP.

“In this regard, the tourism and hospitality industry is a critical cog in our national development agenda, being the third largest contributor to the national GDP.

“A comprehensive tourism and hospitality industry growth strategy is being implemented, which recognises both domestic and international tourism as key drivers to the growth and expansion of the subsector.

“The division of the sector into clusters is commendable and set to enhance targeted and efficient tourism development. I challenge the various clusters tasked with developing and growing business tourism ,sports tourism ,culture and heritage tourism as well ,medical tourism among others to make concerted efforts with clear timelines to grow the industry,” said President Mnangagwa