from DANIEL JONES in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe Bureau
VICTORIA FALLS, (CAJ News) – AFRICAN Sun Limited, proprietors of Elephant Hills Resort, is upgrading the Elephant Hills Golf Course with the aim of using the sport to draw numbers to the destination.
“We consider the golf course to be part of our integral investment in the tourism resort,” said African Sun Chief Executive, Peter Saungweme.
“We are going to upgrade to international standards to be able to host international tournaments like the Sunshine tournament,” the executive added.
Vincent Makamure, Matabeleland Golf Association president, implored tourism stakeholders to emphasise more on sport tourism.
“The issue of sports tourism is more important on the local market in the sense that if it is advertised locally and Victoria Falls being the best tourism destination, we should be having the best attendance,” Makamure said.
Roy Nyakunuwa, FBC Bank head group marketing, said the financial institution will continue to support tourism in the context of sports tourism sponsorship.
“As a financial institution, we are a significant player in the tourism sector where we want to enhance the product and we have seen it fit to promote sports tourism through golf,” he said.
Victoria Falls deputy mayor, Patricia Mwale, said the city envisioned to have the best facilities, including sports, in the country.
Legendary South African golfer Gary Player, designed the Elephant Hills Golf Course in 1972.
It is an 18-hole championship course and can host international competitions.
Golf is the only viable sporting event in Victoria Falls with a number of national amateur tournaments played at Elephant Hills every year.
– CAJ News