The Sunday News
Noble Ncube, Business Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) has urged tourism operators to utilise technologically advanced payment methods that will make it simple and secure for tourists when they pay for services and products when visiting the country.
Most tourist attractions in Zimbabwe do not have mechanisms to promote cashless methods of payments.
Visitors at most National Parks and National Museums are obliged to pay cash when visiting the areas.
ZTA chief operating officer Mr Givemore Chidzidzi said it would be an added advantage for tourism operators if they promote the use of credit cards to settle payment for tourists. He said worldwide most services in tourism were now being paid using credit cards.
“We have a document that mandates us to have a process called ease of doing business. We encourage tourism operators to offer the most lucrative tour and safari packages. Payment through cashless service would be a great convenience for visitors. The idea is customer orientation.
“Tourists now do not want to carry cash with them because of safety precautions and unforeseen risks. Events like accidents and robberies have pushed people world over to use cashless payment methods. If our local tourism operators introduce this kind of system it would benefit them more because it will attract more visitors. The credit card swipe method is safer than carrying cash around,” he said.
He urged operators to play an active role in coming up with service packages that are user friendly and flexible with tourists as the success of tourism hinged on joint efforts between the ZTA and players in the tourism sector.
The advent of online and mobile shopping has seen an increase in the number of people and businesses who are purchasing goods and paying for services through cashless platforms.
Credit cards are the most popular mobile payment billing method in the world.
In a sector performance report issued out last month, ZTA said the total number of tourists visiting the country increased by 10 percent during the period January to September 2015 compared to the same period in 2014.
It said the number can increase by far more than 10 percent if operators embrace use of customer oriented initiatives.
The report showed that growth in arrivals into Zimbabwe was generally backed by growth in the country’s traditional markets such as UK and USA in addition to the increase in arrivals from mainland Africa.
