Nyangombe Lodge and Club Likhoma partnership to boost tourism

The Chronicle

Simba Jemwa, Business Correspondent

NYANGOMBE Safari Lodge and tourism marketing firm, Club Likhoma, have entered into a partnership to boost tourism business operations in the Midlands’ Black Rhino Conservancy (MBRC) area.

Located some 35km from Kwekwe along Mvuma Road along Sebakwe River bank, Nyangombe Safari Lodge offers a private, authentic safari experience of untamed African wilderness.

It is situated within 65 000-hectare of land and has a diversity of woodlands and grasslands.

The facility was built in 1996 as a hunting lodge and is now being rehabilitated by its current owners – Dr Misheck Sibanda, Chief Secretary to the Office of the President and Cabinet and his wife, Doreen, who have been on the property since 2007.

The partnership will result in injection of critical new event-based marketing strategies from Club Likhoma into a multi-faceted marketing programme focusing on domestic and international tourism opportunity markets.

This is expected to stimulate and drive preference for Nyangombe as a leisure, education and business destination. Target markets have been carefully selected through a detailed market and tourism data analysis, and will include the immediate Kwekwe and wider Midlands locals, followed by the rest of the country and the region with the possibility of new markets being introduced over time.

In the initial stages, the types of activity undertaken will include the introduction of events such as bass fishing, safari drives, rhino walks with the long-term focus being hunting safaris to market Nyangombe and cooperative marketing campaigns.

Nyangombe Safari Lodge manager, Mr Jed Moyo, said the partnership will build on the great work done to date in increasing the lodge’s reputation as an international leisure destination.

“This partnership and the commitment of significant additional marketing by Club Likhoma and Nyangombe represents a significant turning point in the ability of the property to market itself internationally,” he said.

“Over the past few years and for several more to come there has been significant infrastructure development and tourism product enhancement within the Midlands.

“So, the time is right to further enhance the international marketing capabilities of the MBRC along with Nyangombe, in order to drive future passenger growth.

“It’s about securing additional market connectivity by supporting existing tourism opportunities and developing new ones through further expansion or increases in frequency, as well as developing new domestic and international markets, establishing new events and building the MBRC as the nation’s gateway,” said Mr Moyo.

Club Likhoma operations manager, Mr Jonathan Kaliyathi, said the collaboration with Nyangombe was part of a broader strategy to raise its profile in key markets.

“By pooling our marketing and intellectual resources and presenting a united front to achieve a common goal, we have the opportunity to grow Nyangombe’s reputation as a leisure destination, drive up visitor numbers, attract more international rhino conservationists to study in the MBRC and build stronger relationships in priority markets.

“We can also increase overnight expenditure by enticing visitors who visit Nyangombe to stay longer.”

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Article Source: The Chronicle

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