Tourism sector appeals for financial support

The Zimbabwe’s tourism and travel industry has appealed for financial support in State grants to save the industry suffocating from the effects of coronavirus pandemic.

Zimbabwe has been recording a rise in infections and deaths during the past few weeks, prompting the Government to put in place strict lockdown rules to limit the spread of the virus.

These includes a ban on inter-city travel and holding of physical public conferences.

“One wonders what will be left out of this sector as the carnage continues unabated,” Safari Operators Association of Zimbabwe president Dr Emmanuel Fundira said.

“There is an ongoing need for tourism grants within the tourism industry and requires urgent consideration by Government. The question of Government relief is a no brainer . . . urgent Government intervention is needed to restore the sector and its supply chain. Loans or guarantees will not sustain our businesses. We will suffocate.”

Dr Fundira said the $500 million loan guarantees remains “a pie in the sky” as the majority of operators were failing to access the funds under the facility. Besides, the devastation and disruption caused by Covid-19 has rendered crippled most tourism related businesses making them unbankable, Dr Fundira added.

“The last thing we want is to pile more debt on operators in the sector. Grant funding is badly required to kick-start the sector,” he said adding that as much as US$100 million was needed to revive the tourism industry.

“The money can be aggregated through concessionary waivers on leases and statutory dues. Besides, tourism is not an industry in which one could flip a switch to the ‘on’ position. It needs a long ‘run-up ‘support until it starts turning over revenue,” he noted.

This week, the Tourism Business Council of Zimbabwe (TBCZ) said operators were now contemplating further laying off workers and closing because of lack of business.

Domestic travel that had shown potential in the absence of international tourism has been affected by an intercity travel ban while closure of land borders has also compounded the situation, TBCZ president Wengai Nhau said.

Zimbabwe should ride on the vaccination success story and allow those who have been inoculated to travel as an incentive, borrowing from international countries, some of which have been allowing vaccinated to enter hotels.

“We are in trouble and we are saying to Government, you gave us vaccines, let’s try and benchmark on the international standards where elsewhere like in the US, citizens are being incentivised to vaccinate by allowing those who have vaccinated to travel and not get quarantined on return.

“We can also borrow similar practices in Zimbabwe and open intercity travel and conference facilities and put conditions that all staff serving guests must be vaccinated,” said Nhau.

He said continuous opening and closing of the industry dampens market confidence.

“Instead of closing hotels, conference facilities and restaurants, we can enforce social distancing and allow 50 percent capacity. There is no way we can dream of a viable tourism industry without land borders especially Victoria Falls and Kazungula because of their geographical location, they are our golden triangle and unique selling point.

“Let’s have a pilot programme of opening (land) borders and limiting activity to bonafide tourists with
Covid-19 tourism visas. That can be a springboard for our industry recovery.”-ebusinessweekly.cl.zw