Holidays bring business boom for hotels

MOST hotels and tourist resorts in the country were filled up during the past Christmas and New Year holidays with some achieving 100 percent in bookings.

The latest statistics imply that the formation of the inclusive Government has inspired the return of confidence in key source markets and mostly the domestic market.

Figures released by Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) indicated that bookings in the prime resort area of Victoria Falls were between 80 and 90 percent.

Apart from Victoria Falls, the survey also mentioned Nyanga, whose bookings were also looking good ranging from 60 to 70 percent, while Matopos and Masvingo were around 65 percent.

City hotels, however, recorded low occupancies of about 30 to 40 percent as most people were moving from the hustle and bustle of the city to holiday resorts.

The high turnout of bookings is, however, attributed to promotions that are being run by most hoteliers in a bid to encourage domestic tourism to make up for the gap left by international tourists.

The full year to December 2008 had seen the tourism industry suffering a 22 percent decline in arrivals; from 2,5 million in 2007 to 1,9 million.
Accommodation utilisation is, however, expected to rise, following the stabilisation of the economy and the demand resulting from the expected increases in tourist arrivals. Business delegations hunting investment opportunities in Zimbabwe, aid agencies and diplomats have been flying into the country at increased frequency since the signing of the Global Political Agreement, signifying the resurgence of hope.

“It is a clear sign that there is a recovery from last year,” Zimbabwe Tourism Authority chairman Mr Shingi Munyeza said, referring to the improved performance. “But next year will give a better signal. If you look at the statistics you will see that most of the tourists were business travellers, it’s tricky to compare because last year was an election year.”

Zimbabwe Council for Tourism (ZCT) president Mr Emmanuel Fundira attributed the positive growth to the introduction of multiple currencies, which has stimulated domestic tourism this year as it improved disposable incomes.

“The dollarised economy has brought stability to the sector, which now allows locals to travel to resort towns around the country.

“There is now flexibility on the spending power of the people,” he said.

He added that most hotels and lodges outside the capital were fully booked for the festive season, as many people wanted to spend the holidays away from where they lived.

“Bookings were made as early as November,” he said.

According to ZCT, domestic tourism is now operating at above 60 percent. Mr Fundira said increased domestic tourism would improve revenue collection for the sector.

Mr Fundira, however, noted that there has been a flip side to the promotions as some tourists have taken the promotional prices — which are lower than the normal prices — to mean that local hotels were now engaging in a two-tier pricing system.

He said contrary to this assumption, local hotels have rather adopted what is known internationally as the variable pricing system where prices vary depending on the time one books into a hotel.

Source: Sunday Mail Zimbabwe (http://www1.sundaymail.co.zw/inside.aspx?sectid=4392&cat=19)