Famba Tino. That’s how the story starts. That’s what’s buzzing right now as Zimbabwe’s star Tino Kadewere is banging goals, assisting and doing incredible stuff on the pitch in almost every game for the French League 1 football outfit, Olympique Lyonnaise. Apart from that, he has scored recognition from Zimbabwe’s First Family, who invited him to the State House and granted him the tourism ambassador role, this is another big game involvement he will have in Zimbabwe’s tourism sector.
A tourism ambassador represents a tourism destination in another country, helping present the destination’s culture, values and attributes. This is done through their conduct, communication, and any other forms of expression. Tino makes a good example of such, the positive remarks about his conduct on and off the pitch, are well befitting of an ambassador, who portrays a good image of Zimbabwe. In this post we discuss on why it is an important assignment that was given to him.
Tourism is a lucrative industry for Zimbabwe.
In 2019 Zimbabwe’s tourism industry contributed a total of US$1.25 billion with foreign receipts largely making up the amount; US$868 million. We could do more than that, as the 2018 figures were slightly higher. These figures show a case for the need to harness Zimbabwe’s tourism potential towards economic growth.
Everything possible has to be done to promote the tourism industry, this includes making Zimbabwe an appealing destination in foreign markets. Tino’s appointment is a good effort towards marketing Zimbabwe to the French market and beyond, as football has a global following.
Zimbabwe needs more positive brand perceptions.
Tourism thrives where there is a good image, countries which have more powerful positive perceptions like New Zealand, Scotland, Netherlands and more receive more tourists. The good image makes them attractive to more travelers. Whilst Zimbabwe has beautiful resorts and destinations, including the Victoria Falls, one of the World’s Natural Wonders, it needs more positive associations.
Tino is doing remarkably well in football, he possesses an incredible image, and can definitely help redefine the perceptions around Zimbabwe. He won’t do it all by himself, but he will be of great help towards the creation of better brand image for our country, just like Lionel Messi has done for Argentina, Cristiano Ronaldo has done for Portugal, Luka Modrić for Croatia etc.
Zimbabwe needs more influencers in marketing it as a destination.
Influencers are those people who can make an impact on people’s decision making, especially making it lean towards a desired position. For a while Zimbabwe hasn’t had a deliberate attempt to engage influential Zimbabweans abroad so that they can help market it as an appealing tourism destination.
Imagine Tino inviting Memphis Depay who has 10.2 million followers from across the world on Instagram for a visit to Zimbabwe with his team mates during the off season. Him sharing pictures from our destination sites would be an endorsement which we would benefit from. A similar effect was seen at some point when Steve Harvey shared pictures from Victoria Falls with his wife and it created a lot of interest towards Zimbabwe.
It may cost a lot of money and effort for our tourism authority to approach figures like Depay, but it’s easier and costs nothing for Tino to do that. The club shows a lot of passion for Tino and Zimbabwe, their social media is abuzz with #FambaTino, nothing would stop them from visiting where one of their stars comes from. Will it happen? We can only hope so.
Sport is a powerful tool to send a message.
Sport is a powerful tool which can cause transformation to countries, can shift perceptions, cause cultural changes and even champion global change because of its following. Football is even more powerful because it has a very large worldwide following. A game in France is not only viewed by the French, but even by football enthusiasts in other countries and continents, just as how we watch other leagues.
National brands realizing this have partnered with football clubs to promote themselves, Rwanda has a VISIT RWANDA CAMPAIGN with Arsenal FC, and Thailand have partnered Leicester City FC. Whilst we may not have similar campaigns any time soon, our ambassador on the big stage will always help us promote Zimbabwe.
When the world looks at how Zimbabwean players have brilliantly performed and carried themselves with good reputation, probably it will give them another thought. Mixed with other marketing material, online and offline, we can score some good goals and win one or two.
Tino alone may not lead this but can be a part of the process, which may have been initiated by the likes of Peter Ndlovu, Benjani Mwaruwari and other players. In the Premier League, Marvelous Nakamba who is currently signed to Aston Villa could also play a part in that process.
Tino’s star is shining, and we hope it will keep shining. He still has a lot of places to go, a lot of achievements to attain, and in the process, those who ask, will know that he’s Tino, the boy from Zimbabwe. We must keep supporting him, and rally behind him, his wins are our wins. He can only keep inspiring more youths to go after their dreams and make it in their own terms.
We believe that as he goes out there, he remains proud to carry the Zimbabwean colors on his shoulders and will represent the motherland so well.
His appointment follows the engagement of the Zimbabwe Cricket team to promote Zimbabwe’s tourism in October 2020, where the President ED Mnangagwa made the following remark which emphasized the importance of tourism to Zimbabwe:
“The (tourism) sector plays an important role in realizing our national vision for 2030, as it is one of the four pillars that support the growth of our economy alongside sectors such as agriculture, mining and production.”
President Emmerson D. Mnangagwa
All the best to our Warrior, Famba Tino!
tinashe@travelzimbabwe.co.zw
