Tourism and hospitality curriculum at primary school level in Zimbabwe

Tourism development in Zimbabwe is grounded on the country's unique cultural and natural heritage which is made up of sensitive ecosystems encompassing national parks and wildlife. The increasing investments in tourism may cause adverse long term effects of developments in biodiversity and loss of wildlife. It is therefore vital that communities living next to tourist attractions be educated so that they practise eco-tourism or sustainable tourism as a matter of priority. The focus of this article is to identify a curriculum for the education of primary school learners in Zimbabwe. Such a curriculum should equip primary school learners with the requisite knowledge to preserve and protect their environment effectively. In a bid to come up with a primary school curriculum incorporating tourism and hospitality education some 145 out of a population of 300 respondents were interviewed in and around the tourist resort areas of Nyanga, Harare, Bulawayo and Victoria Falls. The findings from the study tendered a realistic and practical framework for the development of a primary school curriculum incorporating “Tourism and Hospitality” as a subject in Zimbabwean primary schools.