Restaurants restart boosts sector confidence
THE re-opening of restaurants for sit-ins and vaccination of workers in the tourism and hospitality sector is a confidence booster that will position the industry for re-opening and encourage regional and international travellers to start visiting Victoria Falls.
Cabinet on Tuesday resolved that stage two of phase one of the vaccination roll-out should include tobacco merchants and their workers, teachers and hospitality industry workers, with immediate effect.
Restaurants were allowed to open for 50 percent of their sit-in capacity under strict adherence to Covid-19 guidelines. Those breaking the restrictions will be closed immediately, according to the Cabinet.
Victoria Falls is regarded as the country’s tourism capital and was recently named second best place to visit this year by a German publication while a United States travel magazine Travel + Leisure also named one of the local facilities, Victoria Falls Safari Lodge, as one of the 500 best hotels in the world and among the top five in Africa.
The recognition, coupled with record water levels on the Zambezi River, at close to 3 000 cubic metres falling down the waterfall per second according to authorities, is what the industry requires at this stage to rebuild its confidence post Covid-19 lockdowns.
The roaring Mighty Victoria Falls, the country’s major tourism draw card, is at its peak and the Zambezi River Authority says this year’s water flow is expected to be the highest in 50 years as the current water levels are normally reached in April or May.
The mighty waterfall at its peak
The hospitality industry looks forward to a return by regional and international tourists to experience the beauty of the country, currently not being fully explored.
Tourism contributed 7,2 percent to the Gross Domestic Product in 2018, after receiving 2 579 974 visitors, the highest in a decade.
There were about 2 294 259 arrivals in 2019, making 6.3 percent of the GDP.
The sector contributes about 5,2 percent to the country’s employment.
The industry has welcomed the developments with much excitement. Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe (HAZ) national vice chairman, Mr Farai Chimba, said there will be a roll-out map through the Tourism Business Council of Zimbabwe, which will guide the tourism industry vaccination exercise.
He said the re-opening coincides with positive news for resumption of airlines, which is a catalyst for travel recovery, thereby, allowing regional and international traffic access.
“Prioritising the hospitality industry among the first industries to be vaccinated is a very welcome development and we acknowledge the Government’s commitment to get us restarted and create confidence locally and in our international markets,” said Mr Chimba.
“The re-opening of restaurants also comes at a time where our frontliners will be accessing vaccines, which builds confidence for safe opening.
“The expectation is that domestic travel will also improve building up to Easter holiday and we implore operators to ensure protocols are observed as we don’t want to see closure due to flouting regulations and goodwill that has been extended.”
The latest developments are good news, especially for Victoria Falls, the country’s tourism capital, which had experienced doom and gloom. HAZ local chapter chair Mr Anald Musonza said there was a bright light at the end of the Covid-19 tunnel with the slowing down of Covid-19 cases and the commensurate relaxation of lockdown restrictions by the Government.
“We hope most employees and their dependants in our industry will be vaccinated soon to give confidence to our tourists and holiday makers as they patronise our facilities. Permission to reopen the independent restaurants at 50 percent will see more activity in our industry, which is encouraging and we don’t want this trajectory to be interrupted as we desperately need some income streams to save jobs and our industry,” said Mr Musonza.
Restaurant Operators Association of Zimbabwe (ROAZ) president, Mr Bongani Zamchiya, said the sector will remain supportive to national efforts to eliminate Covid-19.
“ROAZ is delighted that after two and half months of closure or take-away only operation, permission has been given to restaurants to open for sit-down diners who are the key customer base to the restaurant trade,” he said.
“The association looks forward to continued efforts to serve the best interests of restaurants in collaboration with relevant ministries and agencies.”
Mr Zamchiya said restaurants have been strict in terms of enforcement of health protocols and commended players in the industry for their resilience and endurance during lockdown, as well as to the Government for re-opening the sector, as restaurant business is key to tourism and the economy at large.-chronicle.cl.zw
