Last week's piece on top 10 hotels and lodges in Masvingo drew interesting comments from various readers as well as tourism players, who offered their interesting views on the so-called hotel grading process in this tourism city.
Yours Truly was accused of trying to prop up or resuscitate dormant leisure places while others were extolling my endevours of putting some lodges and hotels world's tourism map.
Judging by the way how Stallion Cruise transport company was briefly covered in the column, others were also of the opinion that the renowned bus organisation had 'captured' Yours Truly.
To the uninitiated, the previous column, there were two interelated stories centred on a voyage on Stallion Cruise as well as an expedition at Hippo Creek Lodge situated on the outskirts of 'Ancient City' as Masvingo is popularly known by various visitors and those in the tourism sector.
This particular lodge is classified among the top 10 hotels and lodges in this city.
Anyway the rest is history.
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This week's focus is coming on board of the national dress, which is gradually taking the country by storm and has also cascaded to the hospitality sector.
A lot has been written concerning the need for a national cloth, which in turn promotes a sense of belonging in terms of traditional attire whose meaning or interpretation focuses mainly on cultural and historical background among other related issues.
Before delving into the nitty-gritties of this practice, there is need to come with a true meaning of this particular word, which has found its way into the world of fashion and tourism.
So what is a national dress?
Various scholars and academics have come up with a number of explanations which, however, congregate to a single meaning that borders on cultural history, patriotism and diversity.
A brief summary of a national dress is described as 'wraparound cloth, head wrap, and earrings and necklaces. Such traditional clothing are usually worn on special occasions (in Zimbabwe) such as Independence Day celebrations, Heroes and Defence Forces holiday among others.
Such traditional clothing often provides citizens with clues on history, geography as well as national heritage which are also a boon to the hospitality industry.
In some countries around the world, national dresses act as an unofficial uniform worn especially on special ceremonial occasions while in other states such attire is somehow compulsory.
It is reported that the search for a national clothing in Zimbabwe began in 2005, but the enthusiasm dissipated only to be resuscitated decades later and culminated in official launch of national dress fabric in December 2020.
The event was officially launched by the late former president Robert Mugabe who exhorted locals to embrace the fabric as part of promoting the country's history as well as heritage diversity among others.
"Going forward, as Zimbabweans, both here and in the diaspora, let us now promote our country’s sovereignty and national identity through this national dress fabric. On our side as government, we should designate days when our people wear attire with the national dress fabric, inclusive of those in the education sector,” President Emmerson Mnangagwa said during the launch.
The cloth encompasses national symbols such as the Zimbabwe bird, national flag, chevron pattern, and all these arbitrary signs are found at the Great Zimbabwe monuments which is one of the country's largest monuments situated on the outskirts of Masvingo city.
Time is nigh for those in the tourism industry to play a pivotal role also embracing the whole process as later explained by Tourism and Hospitality minister Barbara Rwodzi during the showcasing of the cloth in one of the exhibitions in Masvingo.
She also stated that the national cloth is also sold in various Zimbabwe Tourism Authority offices in the country to promote the country's hospitality industry.
Let us embrace the national dress for travel and tourism.
Till we meet again in the next column.
- Comments always welcome on: dubebasill@gmail.com or X@DubeBurzil