Mthabisi Tshuma, Business Correspondent

WILDLIFE professionals countrywide have turned to the digital sphere to continue training as they gear up for the re-opening of the tourism industry.

The sector has been failig to conduct continuos training sessions for tour guides under the on-going lockdown period, which has seen most tourism activities come to a halt.

By using digital media platforms, wildlife professionals hope to sharpen their skills and get more knowledge about animal habits and habitats, tourism laws, firearms and general knowledge  related to tourism operations. Government has hinted plans to re-ignite the tourism industry, starting with domestic travel.

The tourism industry is one of the sectors that were hard hit by Covid-19 resulting in tour operators and hotels closing indefinitely due to lack of business. In an interview, one of the digital-learning pioneers, Mr Engelbert Karombo of Mbira Tours and Safaris, which is based in Bulawayo said the new approach would ensure tour guides recap on their job requirements so as to fully execute their duties and promote growth of the industry.

“E-learning was ever there only that it became effective after experiencing the lock down where we went on to discuss with staff to see if it makes sense to improvise studies to our students and it is seemingly working well. We have a number of members from the community involved in the group,” he said.

“The idea came after it was realised that a lot of trainee guides who intended to join us were out of Bulawayo and some are occupied with work so we brought in the idea to enjoy learning at the comfort of one’s zone.

“Over the weeks of engagement, the trainees’ guides’ zeal indicates a possibility of growth in domestic tourism,” said Mr Karombo.

Ms Langelihle Sibanda, founder of Wild Encounter Safaris, which also has a training facility for safari guides said they were also turning digital to further their training programmes.

“We were greatly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic just like many other companies in the industry and this led us to evolving into using electronic learning so that our students can be well prepared to get into the industry as soon as everything returns back to normal,” said Ms Sibanda.

“E-learning has been pretty effective to some extent but it also became a challenge for those without data or devices that can enable them to participate.

“In one of our analysis of digital learning, we found that approximately 60 percent percent of our students are signing up for online activities.”

Ms Sibanda said there was need for tourism players to hit the ground running when the industry reopens as wildlife requires practical ways of doing things in ensuring that work was done efficiently.

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