The late summer rains in Victoria Falls have dampened the temperature a bit.
Anald Musonza is pleased; it’s been a hot few months. He’s also pleased to be based in “beautiful” Victoria Falls. Most people would be.
Anald is the head of sales and marketing at Victoria Falls Safari Lodge Collection. He has worked his way up the hospitality chain, starting as a student at the School of Hospitality and Tourism Studies in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe in 1995.
He says he got into hospitality by “accident”. “I wanted to be an economist…that was my passion. And even now, I’m quite thrilled by the dynamics of understanding economics.”
Along the way, he’s worked in the fast food business, in big hotel groups, in adventure activities, companies and operators, even aviation. His first stint at Victoria Falls Safari Lodge was manager of The Boma, back in 2001.
Since then, he has spent time as deputy general manager of Elephant Hills and has expanded his career to Botswana and Zambia.
“I left [Zimbabwe] in 2007. Things were a bit difficult in terms of our industry and our economy, and I moved to Botswana, where I joined Chobe Marina Lodge.”
Abercrombie & Kent took him to Zambia. It was here that he became more involved with social responsibility and conservation, and sustainability projects.
“In 2013, in Zimbabwe, tourism was beginning to show some good signs of growth. And I joined Shearwater Adventures.” It allowed him to leverage his experience of Zambia and Botswana.
“I was involved in setting up the mobile safaris, the boating business and game drive activity. I was involved in running Shearwater operations in the three countries.”
But in 2019, the call of Victoria Falls was too loud to ignore.
And so, the return to Victoria Falls Safari Lodge which recently celebrated its 30th anniversary. “I meet the United Nations in a day here…We serve guests from all over the world, and that gives you an opportunity to understand and appreciate different cultures and really to have a bit of a world view of life.
“That resonated with my personality because I’m outgoing. I’m adventurous. I love trying new things. I love being exposed to new, different things,” he says.
At first, Anald was responsible for the day to day operations of the various businesses on the estate before being promoted to sales and marketing for the Africa Albida Tourism group.
When Covid-19 came, Africa Albida says, Anald “was instrumental in providing leadership to the Victoria Falls community throughout the toughest two years of the history of the destination”. That’s no small feat. Covid devastated tourism and destroyed lives.
About his career, he is sanguine: “It’s been a journey of exciting new opportunities, right from operations to project development to sales and marketing. I am learning new things every day and trying to make an impact for our business to make sure we continue to lead in the industry.”
Sustainability is Non-negotiable
That leadership pivots on sustainability. “Sustainability is a key way of how we do business.”
For Anald, conservation underpins sustainability.
“The beauty of tourism is that it’s a sustainable product, unlike mining. If you exhaust the gold from the ground, it’s gone. For tourism, the animals should always be there because we are protecting them.”
But he’s not blind to the challenges facing conservation and sustainability. Human development encroaches on nature reserves and areas that should be left for wildlife and nature to thrive uninterrupted. Trees are chopped down, conflict between humans and animals becomes a problem.
There’s also climate change: “The [recent] drought has really affected wildlife and the flora.” It’s got a knock-on effect: no water or food, animals die, fewer tourists visit, there is less money, poaching rises.
These issues need to be managed to continue balancing conservation and sustainability with the livelihoods of communities.
The end game, Anald says, is to ensure communities value the environment because it benefits the thriving tourism industry that then brings jobs, social amenities, schools, medical facilities and the like.
He is particularly proud of the Victoria Falls Anti-Poaching Unit (VFAPU), started by Safari Lodge and conservationist Charles Brightman in 1999. It comprises 17 scouts, of whom Safari Lodge funds about five.
“This is one project that really has been adopted by the whole community.”
Victoria Falls Recycling is another point of pride, which Africa Albida helped to set up. It recycles and upcycles waste such as glass into ornaments that can be sold, thus creating jobs.
Collaborative Tourism
Like Chris Tett at Bushtracks Africa, Anald talks about the benefits of working together as a destination.
Our tourist source markets, he says, are Europe and the US. People have limited time here, so while they’re in the destination they want to experience as much as possible while also (hopefully) being a responsible traveller.
For me, the birth of Africa’s Eden and multi-country travel bringing together all these countries that have got unique offerings, is a no-brainer.
That collaborative effort that aims to bring people into the region benefits all of the countries, the local communities, the businesses and even benefits the respective governments.
“What a better way than to bring all the players together, so that we can collaboratively work, so that we can bring this business into the region?”
On The Job
Every day is a safari: “I’ve had quite a number of encounters with wildlife within our estate and around our estate. You have to navigate it to coexist peacefully with the wildlife.”
He tells of a recent afternoon: “I was driving out of our property and as I got out of the gate there was a leopard with two cubs. I watched them for almost 15 minutes as they crossed the road.
“We are just 4km from town and we have such wildlife right close to our property. Obviously that means they are comfortable to coexist with us.”
Nothing is taken for granted, though, and he ends our conversation with a humble assertion: “We have the honour of being massively gifted with the space we have.
