The role of creative tourism through arts and crafts in promoting inclusive tourism in Zimbabwe

ABSTRACT

With emerging forms of tourism, creative tourism has brought a shift in the tourism industry. Creative tourism is not fully embraced and there is paucity of studies on the new type of tourism in the developing world. The focus of this article is arts and crafts as a form of creative tourism and its role in promoting inclusive tourism from a community-based type of inclusive tourism. Using qualitative approaches in Zimbabwe cities, the study examines the role of creative tourism through visual arts and crafts in promoting inclusive tourism. The key findings of the study indicated that when managed well, visual arts and crafts have great potential in promoting inclusive tourism through the reduction of poverty and improvement of the livelihoods of the marginalised communities. However, artists encounter challenges in the production of arts and crafts that include lack of capital, lack of production space, lack of marketing, rivalry products from other countries, and lack of support from the government and local tourism organisations. Despite the challenges faced, artists appeal for strategies in financing and marketing, fair competition and relaxed government policies.

KEYWORDS:

• Creative tourism
• arts
• crafts
• inclusive tourism
• marginalised community
• Zimbabwe

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Musawenkosi M. Tapfuma

Musawenkosi M. Tapfuma is a lecturer at Midlands State University (MSU) Gweru, Zimbabwe. Her research interests are in Heritage & Culture Tourism, Gastronomy & Culinary Tourism, and Services Marketing. She has since published some Journal research articles in Services marketing and cultural tourism.

Regis Musavengane

Regis Musavengane is an African political ecologist and a human geographer. His research interests include collaborative management of natural resources, community-based tourism, land reform, urban risk & crisis management, and inclusive tourism systems for both urban and rural spaces. His affiliation include the IUCN's (International Union for Conservation of Nature's) World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) Tourism and Protected Areas Specialist Group (TAPAS Group), the Society of South African Geographers (SSAG) and the Zimbabwe Climate Change Coalition (ZCCC).

Rowen Magwaza

Rowen Magwaza is a Lecturer at the Midlands State University. His research interests are in tourism geographies pertaining to developmental and cultural aspects in Zimbabwe.