THE Victoria Falls continues to be a popular destination for international travellers with two properties from the Zimbabwean resort area featuring in the top-five tourism spots in Africa.
A boutique hotel, Matetsi, and the iconic Victoria Falls Hotel have been voted two of the top five resort destinations in Africa by readers of Travel + Leisure (T+L) magazine, one of the world’s most influential travel and tourism publications.
Matetsi came in second after category winner Babylonstoren, a wine estate venue in Simondium, South Africa. Matetsi, positioned along the Zambezi River in a private game reserve by the same name, is described as “perfect for those seeking a relaxing stay”.
The resort’s first and oldest hotel establishment, Victoria Falls Hotel, was voted fifth. Also known as the Grand Old Lady of Africa, the hotel is located on the edges of the town and overlooks the majestic falls.
However, the award is significant for The Victoria Falls Hotel, which is a member of The Leading Hotels of the World. This major accolade follows two other recent trophy wins.
In February, the Victoria Falls Hotel Partnership, which operates the hotel, won the Tourism Business of the Year Award in the inaugural Twalumba Awards, Zimbabwe’s national travel and tourism awards event arranged by the Tourism Business Council of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Tourism Authority and Ministry of Tourism.
More recently, the Matabeleland branch of the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce awarded the hotel the trophy for Exporter of the Year 2023 – Non-consumptive Tourism.
The hotel general manager Farai Chimba said they were “delighted to have won the T+L award, which is a significant endorsement of our hotel by some of the world’s most discerning travellers”.
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“By winning this, as well as the Twalumba and ZNCC awards, we are further encouraged to do more, achieve more and do even better in coming months and years,” Chimba said.
“We will not rest on our laurels and will strive to improve where we can and do more and more to ensure that Victoria Falls in general and our hotel in particular is a first choice for travellers to Africa.”
The Victoria Falls Hotel next year celebrates its 120th anniversary, marking 12 decades of service to local and international visitors to Zimbabwe’s premier tourist destination, Victoria Falls.
The first phase of a multi-million-dollar refurbishment programme in the hotel has just been completed, including significant refashioning of suites and bedrooms, public areas and food and beverage venues, as well as back-of-house operations.
A second phase will take place early next year in time for the anniversary celebrations.
The hotel was the first to be established at Victoria Falls and is situated close to the falls with views into the gorges below the falls and a commanding view of the world-famous road and rail bridge that spans the Zambezi to link southern and central Africa.
Each year, readers of the magazine vote in the World’s Best Awards competition to name a range of award winners across all areas of travel and tourism, including the category Top 5 Resorts in Africa.
T+L magazine, which has been running since 1937, is published by Dotdash Meredith in New York, with 12 issues a year, more than 4,8 million readers and a circulation of just under one million copies each issue.
It is regarded as one of the top two travel publications in the world with a substantial influence on a range of traveller segments.
