African 'Disneyland' still planned for Victoria Falls

The Zimbabwe Government appears to be pushing ahead with plans to build a multi-million dollar conference facility near Victoria Falls Airport to act as a special economic zone for the country. The plans, which were announced last year, received much unfavourable coverage in the international media for the associated description as a 'Disneyland in Africa' (see previous post Victoria Falls 'Disneyland' on the cards, August 2013).

Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister, Walter Mzembi, has recently been quoted as saying a 274 hectare piece of land next to the Victoria Falls Internation Airport has been made available by the government to develop the project. The planned venture is set to house a conference centre, hotels, entertainment and other recreational structures - which press reports again describe as being in a 'Disneyland form'.

Mzembi said government planned to modernise Victoria Falls town into a world tourism destination of choice, while making it the country's conference capital. "We have made serious advances to make Victoria Falls the gateway to our economic recovery," he said. "Our vision is to make the best of Victoria Falls town as we intend to modernise it with new hotels, new venues for conferences with the best facilities."

He said his ministry would soon call upon land developers to partner government and take advantage of the development.

Source: Govt Plans Vic Falls Conference Centre - allAfrica.com (20/06/14)

More: $460m Disneyland Vic Falls investor found (3/1/15)
   African 'Disneyland' still planned for Victoria Falls (22/6/14)

   Zimbabwe To Convert Victoria Falls Into Garden of Eden (3/9/13)
   Zimbabwe's 'Disneyland' plans 'inappropriate' (28/8/13)
   Victoria Falls 'Disneyland' on the cards (22/6/13)