The focus of the world has recently been on Zimbabwe and the Elections which took place on June the 27th. Of course the negative fall-out from Zimbabwe’s political situation is something we in the travel industry are concerned about and confronted with on a daily basis. With the safety and security of our travellors always foremost on our minds, I thought I should write to put everyone’s minds at rest.
Although many travel agents, operators and travellors have expressed concern about visiting Zimbabwe and many countries have issued travel advisories. We wish to assure you that travelling to and staying at Victoria Falls is still and will always be safe and peaceful. Victoria Falls is a community very seperate from the goings on in the rest of the country. Seperated by land and philosophy we are assured by all our partners in Victoria Falls that time moves on there as calmly and peacefully as it always has. A safari including Victoria Falls will still be extremely rewarding. In fact with the launch of new activities, products and excursions, such as the Steam Train Bridge Run, Victoria Falls remains an exciting and stimulating destination. And of course the river itself flows on by oblivious!
A recent industry delegation from JATA (Japanese Association of Travel Agents) visited Victoria Falls over the weekend and have returned happy with what they have seen and determined to encourage their government to keep Victoria Falls on the lowest possible level of travel advisory. The feeling is universally that Victoria Falls should not be included in any travel advisory issued for the rest of the country.
The bottom-line is that while we definitely don’t encourage a sight-seeing tour of Harare (unless you have a wicked sense of adventure) we still believe that Victoria Falls is not only a safe destination but also one well worth visiting.