THE Tourism ministry on Thursday unveiled the Twalumba Trophy which will be the highlight of an annual awards ceremony designed to showcase champions in Zimbabwe’s tourism and hospitality industry sector.
Dubbed the Twalumba National Travel and Tourism Awards, the awards will celebrate service in tourism and hospitality.
The awards will be held on December 3, celebrating tourism players, individuals and organisations who have given destination Zimbabwe a positive outlook.
Speaking during the unveiling of the Twalumba Trophy on Thursday Enviroment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Munesu Munodawafa described the awards as a ground-breaking.
“The Twalumba National Travel and Tourism Awards (NTTA) were created by the Ministry of Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry to celebrate excellence in and for Zimbabwe’s travel and tourism sector,” he said.
“They are awarded in a number of categories, with guiding criteria, to recognize and reward effort and achievement in pursuit of travel and tourism growth and development and the well-being of the sector. It is intended that an awards competition will be held each year, culminating to an awards presentation ceremony towards the end of the calendar year.”
“…The last 18 months have been an unprecedented and difficult time for all of us. Border restrictions and Safe Management Measures (SMMs), were necessary to limit the spread of COVID-19 and keep our community and businesses safe but have inevitably impacted the tourism and hospitality sector.”
“Yet, despite these challenges, our tourism businesses have demonstrated extraordinary passion, resilience, and ingenuity to re-imagine their offerings and experiences. As we prepare to live with the endemic COVID-19, we should expect changes in consumer and traveler behavior, some of which may be permanent. Tourism businesses must continue to be nimble and creative to thrive in this evolving environment,” he added.
He added that the initiative will become symbolic of Zimbabwe’s common desire to work together for the common good, now and tomorrow.
The Twalumba National Travel and Tourism Awards are aimed at rewarding and recognising individual and corporate effort and achievement in pursuit of the growth and development of Zimbabwe’s travel and tourism sector.
This will be done by an exhaustive search for deserving candidates in the various categories of the awards, followed by a selection of winners by a panel of adjudicators.
ZTA ACTING Chief Executive Givemore Chidzidzi said the awards ceremony will ensure consistent and exceptional customer service within the sector.
The Full list of categories are as follows:
Tourism Business of the Year
Tourism Entrepreneur of the Year
Tourism Personality of the Year
Eco-Tourism Facility of Initiative of the Year
Event of the Year
Corporate Responsibility Project of the Year
Coverage of travel and tourism in print media
Coverage of travel and tourism in broadcast media
Coverage of travel and tourism in the online media
Tour guide of the Year
Tourism Image Builder of the Year
Achievement in Marketing
Achievement in Digital Marketing
Achievement in Pursuit of Service Excellence
Achievement in Cultural Tourism
Achievement in promoting gender equality
Achievement in human resources development
Contribution from public sector
Achievement in innovation
