The Sunday News
Wilson Dakwa, Business Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Tourism Authority has said there is a need for tourism recovery and rebranding of the nation to regain competitiveness to counter declining tourism receipts from traditional markets.
ZTA chief executive officer Dr Karikoga Kaseke said this while addressing delegates at the National Tourism Strategic Sector Consultative workshop in Bulawayo last week.
“It is imperative for destination Zimbabwe to come up with tourism recovery initiatives. In developing the recovery initiatives, we need to leverage on the enabling environment brought about by the new political dispensation. We also need to learn from other destinations tourism recovery experiences.
“Recovery is not only important for the tourism sector but other sectors which compliment or are complimented by the sector for the benefit of the national economy. It is time that we revisit our destination brand – Zimbabwe a World of Wonders. All these reasons are valid for our destination in respect of the national brand, destination brand, provincial brands and personal brands,” said Dr Kaseke.
ZTA chief operations officer Mr Givemore Chidzidzi said the average length of stay for tourists has to be increased from five days and four nights in 2015 to nine days and eight nights by 2025 in a bid to increase the contribution of tourism to employment creation from the current 180 000 (direct, indirect and induced) in 2016 to about 500 000 by 2025.
He added that the Vision 2025 National Tourism Marketing and Growth Strategy will soon be used to ensure that Zimbabwe is known as a unique and attractive tourist destination in Africa by 2025.
“As we develop the National Tourism Marketing Strategy, it is imperative that the destination marketing pillar is addressed in a serious manner. Issues that need to be interrogated include product development, funding for marketing, market segmentation, market representation and market research.
“Destination marketing must be a partnership between all players – a shining example of Private Public Partnerships. The destination digital marketing strategy’s objectives by end of 2019 are to achieve 200 million impressions on all online platforms, 1 million followers on all our social media platforms, convert 30 percent of traffic on online platforms into sales and bookings and attain first page ranking on leading search engines,” said Mr Chidzidzi.
Meanwhile, speaking while addressing delegates, ZTA executive director for Planning, Research and Development Mrs Sophie Zirebwa said national average room capacity rose by two percent last year.
“As of 2017, in terms of room capacity, we have 6 483 rooms nationwide with 2 371 being in Harare, 1 126 in Victoria Falls, 785 in Bulawayo and the rest in other regions. Nationally, there was a two percent increase in average room occupancy from 46 percent in 2016 to 48 percent in 2017. National occupancy hasn’t been growing at a rate which is encouraging and we need to catalyse the improvement of the occupancy.
“Midlands had the highest increase of eight percent, while Victoria Falls and Hwange recorded six percent respectively. Bulawayo and Beitbridge had four percent. Two hotels closed in Beitbridge and this is a cause for concern. However, Harare had a decline in average room occupancy as it dropped from 57 percent to 55 percent,” said Mrs Zirebwa.
Mrs Zirebwa said the figures were only for hotels, lodges are excluded. She highlighted that since attaining independence, no significant hotels have been built with minimal or no hotels providing low cost accommodation facilities and this has a ripple effect on domestic tourism.
She added that figures from last year showed that the United States of America had since become Zimbabwe’s biggest tourists market.
“The United Kingdom used to be our biggest tourists market. UK has been overtaken by USA. Last year, we received 101 206 arrivals from USA and 73 552 from UK respectively.
“In terms of African arrivals, South Africa had the largest number of people visiting our nation with 638 124 tourists coming from South Africa, followed by 140 578 from Mozambique and 96 023 from Zambia,” she said.
