International Host Communities: A Positioning Platform for Zimbabwe Tourism Brand

Abstract

The study investigated the strength of showcasing Zimbabwe tourism destination offerings at international platforms to its tourism brand performance. This was mainly based on the fact that the Zimbabwe tourism destination authorities are investing more in selling the country’s tourism brand at international platforms but not gaining a huge mileage in positioning the brand. The study employed a mixed methods research design combing both quantitative and qualitative approaches in extracting data from respondents. An in-depth interview was employed first as a qualitative technique in order to find the most common showcasing platforms from Zimbabwe tourism brand. This was done to senior managers and experts in the Zimbabwe tourism industry. Their responses revealed the platforms as carnivals, road shows, indabas, regional magazines and international interactive websites. A quantitative research was therefore done using survey questionnaires that were distributed to foreigners and local in order to assess the most dominant platform for positioning Zimbabwe’s tourism brand. The results show that indabas are the most effective platforms to brand Zimbabwe tourism brand. This is followed by international interactive websites and regional magazines. The research recommended that internationlising brand showcasing does not yield more on its own. There is a need to start with intensive local acceptance then go regional and international.