The Sunday News
Judith Phiri, Business Reporter
THE Safari Operators Association of Zimbabwe is lobbying the Government to review and reconsider giving the industry a stimulus package or grants to assist them in the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
The industry like many others has not been spared by the devastating challenges brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, and is further affected by widespread cancellation of bookings recorded daily nationwide. In an interview, Safari Operators Association of Zimbabwe president, Dr Emmanuel Fundira said players in the safari industry yearn for financial assistance.
He said that there was need to emulate stimulus packages or grants being given in other countries such as Namibia, South Africa and Botswana, among others.
Dr Fundira said there was need to make money available for the industry to remain in place and service the various overhead costs which they cannot avoid to remain in existence.
“The industry is failing to cope under extremely difficult circumstances. Travel is still very much curtailed and only now limited to essential travel and leisure is not one of them. We are really urging and imploring Government, officials and Ministry of Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry for special consideration to be allowed at least to have some form of breathing space for the industry to move forward because as it is at the moment it’s a carnage and a bloodbath.”
He said the industry’s loss were estimates based on last year where arrivals dropped by 83 percent, hence proportionately US$100 million in revenue was lost. He said this was not only uniquely to Zimbabwe but it was a global statistic which has been coined out by United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).
Dr Fundira said the safari industry which was once one of the significant contributors to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country, has seen loss of jobs.
He said though the industry was trying to be innovative with some hosting virtual game drives whereby they use certain applications to give people an experience of nature reserves, it was still not the same as the physical experience clients needed.
However, as the new normal, Dr Fundira said human contact was being discouraged for good reasons and players had to look at developing products where clients can virtually attend to shows and be of good experience to the market.He encouraged people and visitors to get vaccinated and to ensure that most places are able to achieve herd immunity.
