TOURISM minister Priscilla Mupfumira said local sector members and stakeholders are lagging behind when most tourists the world over are using the digital space to search for information on destinations.

“Without digital marketing how do these local tourism sector players intend to reach out to the world and catch the interest of tourists the world over,” said the Minister.

Mupfumira also said if the players want to compete they need to join the growing demands of the sector and compete with other international destinations online.

In an interview with New Zimbabwe, Mupfumira said the industry has a lot of potential to contribute to the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country but this can be far-fetched if tourists outside the country cannot easily find information on travelling and the leisure industry online.

“I recently went to South Africa, United Kingdom and Spain and met a lot of enthusiastic tourism players keen to come and participate in Zimbabwe but most of them complain of not getting enough information about the service sector online,” said Mupfumira recently.

“E-marketing news is a leading tool which local players can effectively use to bring as many tourists as they can but if you search for information about what they offer sometimes it is only the address that is available.”

She added, “But from the information available local players are yet to appreciate the use of the digital space with only one or two hotels having an updated website which is disheartening to say the least.”

“Some do not even have a simple thing like a Facebook page, twitter account to market their places and products, let alone an email account.”

Mupfumira said she had been told by the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) that that only 34 per cent of foreign visitors book online.