Tourism boom expected during festive season

Judith Phiri, Business Reporter WITH the Zimbabwe tourism industry on a rebound, the country’s prime tourist destinations have started to witness increased activities and bookings ahead of the festive season. It is said the tourism industry will experience a boom following the opening up of global markets and relaxed travel restrictions owing to reduced Covid-19 […]

Judith Phiri, Business Reporter

WITH the Zimbabwe tourism industry on a rebound, the country’s prime tourist destinations have started to witness increased activities and bookings ahead of the festive season.

It is said the tourism industry will experience a boom following the opening up of global markets and relaxed travel restrictions owing to reduced Covid-19 pandemic infections. According to a recent Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) report that presented the January to September performance highlights in 2022, the country witnessed an increase of 165 percent tourist arrivals. A notable increase is expected in arrivals from the fourth quarter since August which marked the beginning of the peak season for tourism.

In an interview, Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) head of corporate affairs Mr Godfrey Koti said the country anticipates to register a greater number of visits.

“The pandemic  has been tough  for tourism but we are excited that the sector is on the rebound on the back of strategies being implemented by the various sector players. As the festive season has begun, players in the industry are expecting a boom with hotels and activities in the resort area of Victoria Falls already seeing an improved number of bookings for the month of December,” said Mr Koti.

He said during the festive season players in the sector have set up and will be offering special packages and this was likely to attract both international and local tourists to various tourism destinations nationwide. Mr Koti urged the players to follow diligence and compliance issues, while tourists and travellers have been advised to deal with registered tourism travel agents.  He noted that tourism travel agents must be registered with the ZTA and the Association of Zimbabwe Travel Agents (AZTA).

Tourism Business Council of Zimbabwe (TBCZ) chief executive officer (CEO), Mr Paul Matamisa said business  will be better than the previous year.

Tourism Business Council of Zimbabwe chief executive officer Mr Paul Matamisa

“The sector is expected to witness a boost in arrivals as the first festive season after the Covid-19. We are now back to business and fully operational to capacity with minimal restrictions. We expect domestic and international tourism to immensely contribute to the rebound of the sector,” said Mr Matamisa.

He said most destinations were fully booked for the Christmas period and this is the first time in three years, while they were expecting 100 percent occupancy throughout the festive season.  Mr Matamisa said most players were on a recovery path as business is expected to go back to pre-Covid levels.

Meanwhile, presenting the 2023 National Budget Statement, Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube said during the first half of 2022, the country registered a 115 percent rise in tourist arrivals to 352,719, compared with the same period in 2021.  He said domestic visits into the national parks rose by 90 percent from 90,909 in 2021, to 172,481 during the period January to May 2022.

“As a result, the tourism receipts increased by 121 percent in 2022 to US$337.5 million, compared to the same period last year. The tourism industry is expected to continue to grow in the outlook, benefiting from the recovery in international tourism, coming in of new players in the aviation sector and meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE). Therefore, tourists’ arrivals are expected to increase to 1.4 million in 2023, whilst tourism receipts are projected at US$623 million. Growth of the sector will be anchored on various interventions,” said Prof Ncube.

The Minister said in 2023, Government will increase marketing and promotion efforts through the deployment of tourism attachés at the embassies to aggressively promote destination Zimbabwe in key source markets that include China, France, Germany, India, Japan, South Africa, UAE, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.