Zimbabwe Plans 'Disneyland' In Africa

Zimbabwe plans to build a "Disneyland in Africa" at the world famous Victoria Falls to boost tourism,
a government minister has said. Walter Mzembi, Minister of Hospitality and Tourism said the
government would spend more than $300m [£193m] on the theme park to be located in Victoria
Falls.

Zimbabwe is not leveraging the Victoria Falls enough, Mzembi said on Tuesday, describing it as a
"sleeping giant".

"It's a wake-up call for us...we must build a new tourism facility with an impact," he said.
"We think it should be modelled along the size and the kind of vision that is on Disneyland, including
hotels, entertainment parks, restaurants, conferencing facilities. This is the vision and we need people
who can run with it."

The minister earlier told Zimbabwe's official news agency New Ziana that the government wanted to
create a free zone with a banking centre "where even people who do not necessarily live in Zimbabwe
can open bank accounts".

He announced the plans at the United Nations World Tourism Organisation [UNWTO] on-going
general assembly meeting, which Zimbabwe is co-hosting with Zambia.
The decision to award the conference to Zimbabwe was condemned by UN Watch, an independent
human rights group based in Geneva, citing reports of human rights abuses and election rigging.
"The notion that the UN should spin this country as a lovely tourist destination is, frankly, sickening,"
UN Watch head Hillel Neuer said.

The government already has plans to expand the Victoria Falls airport, saying it will invest about
$150m in the project.

In the first quarter of this year, Zimbabwe's tourism authority said the country registered a 17%
increase in visitors.

If the country remains stable, it says, tourism is set to contribute 15% to the country's GDP.
Over the past decade, Zimbabwe recorded the world's highest inflation with its economy in virtual
collapse. However, a power-sharing deal reached after an acrimonious election in 2008 helped to
stabilise the economy