Ever since the discovery of the majestic Victoria Falls by a Scottish Missionary and explorer in 1855, Zimbabwe has become one of the leading tourist destinations in Africa.  However tourism in the Sub-Saharan country has been accompanied by its fair share of problems from the erosion of culture, to strain on local resources. A greater part of the concern has to do with the impact of tourism on the environment and the extent to which the influx of economic income is justified. A couple of days ago, I was introduced to green tourism as a phenomenon that aims to ease this pain by providing a pleasant stay to tourists and sustainability to locals.

On the 29th of September, myself and a great team of enthusiastic environmental fanatics had the great pleasure of participating in the prestigious Sanganai/Hlanganani – World Tourism Expo. This is an annual Tourism Trade Fair organized by the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, that showcases the widest variety of Africa?s best tourism products and attracts international visitors and media from across the world.


Of all the exhibition stands (over 200) at this year's version of the fair, in my opinion, one stand stood out as the most innovative and environmental of all. And yes, yours truly was fortunate enough to participate in its design. We used mostly thrown away trash such as used plastic, tyres, metals and turned them into great products for the design of the stand. Mr V. Sibanda, who has been a stand designer for over 15 years was crucial in turning what was just an idea in the minds of Green Tourism and Zimbabwe Tourism Authority and turning it into reality.

Green tourism, often referred to as EcoTourism, is a small scale alternative to standard tourism. It involves visiting fragile, pristine, and relatively undisturbed natural areas and preserving the environment while improving the wellbeing of local people.

After a brief discussion with Green Tourism Advisor in Africa Veronica Chapman, it soon became clear how this new phenomenon would in the coming years not only revolutionize tourism but benefit destination communities. She explained that the end goal is not only to conserve tourist destinations in Africa but also to empower locals such as those in rural areas to use the little resources that they have to better themselves through sustainability education and green projects.

Ecological conservation is a subject that has not been talked about much in the tourism space, until of course the wetlands that bring thousands of dollars from tourists are discovered to be drying up. Do we only cry when the beloved Cecil the lion gets hunted down resulting in a negative balance sheet or do we cry for all animals and natural resources?

This is a conversation we must begin to have in this space. The tourism expo ends tomorrow, I hope to have more discussions in this subject and generate more ideas young people can use to conserve their environment.