OCCUPANCY at hotels in Victoria Falls was up by three percentage points over the Easter holidays, the Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe (HAZ) has said.
The tourism industry in Zimbabwe has been growing steadily over the years and efforts are being made to improve infrastructure and attract more visitors to boost the sector’s contribution to the country’s GDP.
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“Same period last year, the destination posted 53 percent,” he said.
Even though the Easter period saw more traffic, Mulinde said the heavily damaged Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Road continues to be a threat to tourism.
“This year’s Easter was a mixed bag, as some hotels in the destination experienced growth largely due to conferencing business taking place or touring groups (series groups).
“However, there was a marked drop in domestic tourist arrivals or leisure business due to the poor road network, especially the Bulawayo-Vic Falls road.
“The other factor is the competing holidays, for instance, the Easter holidays, Independence Day, and Carnival. Victoria Falls Carnival is the major highlight for the month of April,” he said.
Since the introduction of the Victoria Falls Carnival, the period immediately after Christmas has witnessed regional tourists from Botswana, South Africa, Namibia and Mozambique especially thronging the Victoria Falls, joining the domestic travelers. The hospitality industry has not been spared the effects of power cuts in the country, having to rely on diesel-powered generators to avoid interruptions in operations.
“For us as hospitality operators, we find that we are actually a high user of power. The majority of the equipment we use cannot be powered by solar energy.
“So, this is coming at a very increased cost in terms of fuel per litre and what we have got to power up on a day-to-day basis.
“While most operators are on standby generators, I think the correct term is different from having to run for 10 to 15 hours, which becomes a high cost and as an industry, we are not really prepared to be off-grid as we go into our day-to-day operations,” he said.
The industry is expected to continue to grow in the future, benefiting from the recovery in international tourism, the coming in of new players in the aviation sector and meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions. In the fourth quarter of 2022, tourist arrivals increased by 2,8 percent to 350 283 from 340 779 recorded during the third quarter, according to official figures.
The relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions, improved accessibility, particularly by air, and an increase in domestic tourist activities contributed to the growth of the tourism sector during the fourth quarter of 2022.
Authorities are expecting tourist arrivals to increase to 1,4 million in 2023, while tourism receipts are projected at US$623 million.
The government is targeting 2,5 million tourist arrivals by 2025 and US$1,5 billion in receipts.
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