Gilding a Lily？

　　It is a world heritage site and one of the seven natural wonders of the world- in short， a tourist attraction like few on our planet. Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe [andZambia] is on most people’s “to do” travel list.

　　It is therefore no surprise that the announcement by Zimbabwe’s Tourism MinisterWalter Mzembi in August that his government plans to build a “Disneyland in Africa” styletheme park at Victoria Falls raised many eyebrows. The controversial announcement wasmade by Mzembi at the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) General Assembly， cohostedby Zimbabwe and Zambia at the end of August.

　　Mzembi said the fact that the UNWTO agreed to hold its assembly in Zimbabwe wasan endorsement of the country as a brand， especially as it has endured a decade-longpariah status with the West over alleged human rights violations and absence of the ruleof law. Inevitably， the more than $300 million Mzembi said would be spent on the themepark is aimed at reconstructing a flagging tourist industry that has suffered heavily fromthe country’s economic woes and negative international political reports. Tourism was， inthe country’s distant past， a major revenue earner.

　　On a positive note， the plans to expand the Victoria Falls airport to accommodatemore international flights， and build infrastructure， hotels， conference and entertainmentcenters mean much needed jobs will be created. It will also hopefully help elevate tourismto a level authorities said can contribute 15 percent to the country’s annual GDP.

　　Clearly Victoria Falls is seen as a cash cow and Zimbabwe realizes the world wondercan draw many more visitors than it is currently doing - but at what cost？ Mzembi describedthe Falls as a “sleeping giant” that should be modeled along the lines of Disneyland，which implies the bling and blitz associated with the home of Mickey Mouse. Thereis no doubt that Disneyland has its own multi-attractions， but it is developed around aman-made concept and relies entirely on the visitor being relentlessly entertained bytechnology and cartoon characters. You won’t be standing quietly in introspective aweof nature’s beautiful ferocity waiting for a Disney fun ride. The mere mention of VictoriaFalls and Disney in the same sentence seems bizarre.

　　The reason people visit Victoria Falls， or any other global natural attraction， is becauseit’s unspoiled， exotic and has an air of spiritual mystery about it. Tourism development isan inevitability worldwide， but once a visitor has been to a theme park， that is all it canever be. A balance needs to be kept between providing endless cattle-loads of touristgroups a synthetic experience and maintaining the integrity and splendor of a naturalwonder， which has survived for millennia and needs no adornment to attract attention.

　　As Shakespeare said centuries ago–it is pointless to gild a lily.

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