Tourism sector wary of hard lockdown

PLAYERS in the tourism sector have expressed fear of another hard lockdown necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Previous hard lockdowns have included a ban on intercity travelling and conferencing. Such restrictions have crippled the tourism sector with an estimated total loss of US$1,1 billion.

Tourism Business Council of Zimbabwe president Wengayi Nhau believes prospects for the sector in 2022 are bright as a result of measures which are being put in place to curb the impact of the pandemic.

He told Newsday Business that domestic tourism has been the lifeblood of the sector since the outbreak of the COVID-19 scourge.

“As you know, Zimbabwe was regaining its position as one of the destinations of choice before COVID-19,” Nhau said.

“So we have been on an upward trend since that period. But you can see the level of resilience that is associated with the industry such that every time there is a lockdown, the moment it is lifted, there is an increase on the market on tourism especially domestic tourism.”

He called on government to enforce COVID-19 protocols without imposing hard lockdowns.

“So the prospects for 2022 look bright, but obviously they are dependent on government intervention in terms of policies and other pronouncements that it might make. In our view, if government keeps enforcing the protocols and regulations in a way that does not bring about hard lockdowns, the prospects of tourism are bright,” Nhau said.

“Domestic tourism will thrive better in an environment where we enforce protocols such as social distiancing, masking up and the reduction of people in a closed room without necessarily having to ban intercity travel and gatherings.

Intercity travel and domestic tourism are two sides of the same coin. There can’t be any domestic tourism to talk about if intercity travel is not happening.”

Already, organisations have started conferencing as they put in place strategic plans for 2022.

“When we talk about gatherings we mean conferences and workshops. Currently, domestic tourism is being driven primarily by gatherings which are conferences and workshops, particularly non-governmental organisations, parastatals and the private sector as they prepare for the new year,” Nhau said.

“As long as government does not ban gatherings completely and intercity travel, domestic tourism will grow. As you see, we operated for seven months last year, but we closed the year on a good note in terms of performance. So if we operate the whole year adhering to COVID-19 protocols then our 2022 has bright prospects.”

Bon Voyage Car Rental managing director Farai Hunde believes as the vaccination drive gathers momentum across the globe, it will spur the tourism sector this year.

“The relationship between the global vaccination drive and Zimbabwe’s tourism sector is directly proportional. The more people that are vaccinated globally and locally, the more our tourism sector gets revitalised. Our business in the car rental industry is also rejuvenated,” Hunde said.

“We have witnessed firsthand the effect vaccination has had on our business as the festive season could have spelt disaster, but through vaccination, the influx of both domestic and foreign tourists remained constant. The same can be said even for the everyday life of the average Zimbabwean. Through vaccination, total lockdowns will be a thing of the past and daily life can be able to go on uninterrupted.”

The tourism sector last year received a major boost after financial services group Old Mutual Zimbabwe opened the US$24,6 million Palm River Hotel in Victoria Falls.

The four-star facility, on the shores of the Zambezi River, is a partnership between Old Mutual and Spencer Creek, an established tourism firm with significant interests in the industry.

Other projects that were unveiled recently include Zambezi Boutique’s US$1 million investment, and Nkosi Guest Lodge — a multi-million-dollar facility.-newsday