Judith Phiri, Business Reporter
THE Government has warned players in the tourism and hospitality sector that are operating without being registered to regularise their operations and ensure they comply with the law.
According to the law, every tourism facility or service provider in the country must be registered with the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA).
These include hotels, lodges, guest houses, camps and campsites, bed and breakfast accommodations, hostels and Airbnbs, conference organisers, restaurants in a hotel or vehicle, bicycles for hire, boats, bus hire, curio shops and tour operators among others.
Among them are visitor activities including golf, horse riding, bungee jumping, wedding venues, picnic or braai spots, open-air function venues and travel agents, including those online are part of the operators.
Addressing tourism sector players during a stakeholder consultative workshop on the Tourism Amendment Bill in Bulawayo on Wednesday, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister, Barbara Rwodzi, said registering any tourism facilities was very critical for both the Government and the players.
“Statistics are very important to know how many facilities we have for tourism in the country. ZTA is the promoter of tourism in the country and when we promote it we should know how many facilities we have in terms of accommodation, how many places of attraction we have and activities that tourists can do in our country,” she said.
She said they were encouraging all those running tourism facilities to go and register, while as the Government continues to assist them as the process can be quite difficult and long for any operator.
The Minister said though ZTA was headquartered in Harare, there were Ministry provincial offices to lessen the burden by all means.
She added: “I’m sure many operators do not know that there are other advantages for them to be known by the Government that they exist. Take for example, when accidents happen, we will quickly chip in as the Government to help. It is also important as well if they need to expand their businesses we can gladly chip in when they need rebates or any other advantages that the Government will be offering.”
Minister Rwodzi also bemoaned that the industry was not fully executing its role entrusted to it by Government to collect and remit the Tourism Levy.
She said this was the levy that should contribute to infrastructure and service delivery.
On grading of tourism facilities, she said they had not been doing much as expected by the operators, but they were getting back to it and will ensure a business unit that focuses only on that is set up.
The Tourism Amendment Bill seeks to ensure that Zimbabweans benefit from local tourism resources in fulfilment of Section 13 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe which provides for national development inclusive of the marginalised areas of the country.
While, the ongoing consultations are meant to gather valuable input from all relevant stakeholders as the Government works to update the tourism laws and regulations.
The Bill aims to address emerging trends and challenges in the industry, strengthen destination marketing and promotion, and establish a more enabling environment for tourism businesses to thrive.
