ZIMBABWE’s tourism sector recorded impressive figures during the just-ended festive season, with officials saying occupancy at hotels and resorts surpassed the previous year’s numbers.
Domestic tourism is also on the up, as locals are increasingly having an interest in visiting tourist sites.
In an interview with The Sunday Mail, Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) chief executive Ms Winnie Muchanyuka said the industry enjoyed brisk business during the Christmas and New Year holidays.
“Over the Christmas holidays, we had 86 percent occupancy at our hotels and resorts, compared to 66 percent the previous year,” she said.
The past Christmas holidays were the first without Covid-19 restrictions since 2020. In the past, the pandemic made tourism products difficult to access.
Tourism Business Council of Zimbabwe president Mr Wengai Nhau told this publication that feedback from members of his organisation is indicating the best tourism performance since the onset of the pandemic.
“Although more accurate figures will be compiled, the feedback we have been getting from our members is that all properties and resorts were operating at 95 percent. This has given us a lot of hope as a sector.
“I think we managed to reach figures which we used to see before 2020 and 2021, when we experienced hard lockdowns. Remember, in 2020, Government relaxed Covid-19 protocols around Christmas to allow people to travel but still the numbers were low,” said Mr Nhau.
Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) spokesperson Mr Tinashe Farawo said the authority recorded a marked increase in the number of visitors to its prime destination – the Victoria Falls Rainforest.
“We received 3 110 visitors at the Victoria Falls Rainforest during the Christmas holidays. Of the figure, 334 were international visitors, 268 were drawn from the region and 2 508 were locals,” he said.
From January to November 2022, ZimParks’ facilities received 372 302 guests.
Recently, ZTA released tourism figures for January to September 2022, which showed that domestic national park entries rose by 96 percent.
There were about 256 percent more overseas arrivals within that period, compared to 2021.
Between January and September 2021, tourism revenue stood at US$244 million, but during the same period in 2022, it grew to US$600 million, according to ZTA.
Investments in the tourism sector between January and September 2022 amounted to US$300 million. – Sunday Mail
