The Sunday News
Rutendo Nyeve, Sunday News Reporter
TOUR operators in Victoria Falls, the country’s premier tourism destination, are prepared for the upcoming tourism season expected to kick off in April.
This season is anticipated to see growth due to increased investments, new airline routes and the introduction of additional tourism offerings.
While private tour operators have noted a decline in international visitors, the hospitality sector in the resort city has benefited from numerous national, regional and international conferences, boosting their business.
The tourism industry has three seasons where the low season exists in the first quarter of the year from January to the end of March, April to July marks the medium season and August to December is the tourism high season. Tourism Business Council of Zimbabwe regional representative and chairperson of the We Are Victoria Falls Initiative, Mrs Barbara Murasiranwa-Hughes said the destination is anticipating a positive trajectory as they prepare for the peak periods.
She said they are excited that more airlines are coming in with Air Namibia set to have its inaugural flight to the resort city on 4 April.
“Projections are looking very positive across the destination in terms of occupancies as we prepare to enter the peak periods. These first few months of the year have been bolstered by a number of international conferences which have been hosted in the destination.
“This next month sees the hosting of the Prestigious Destination Wedding Planners event and Victoria Falls continues to make strides as a destination of choice for both global travellers seeking adventure and immersive wilderness experiences and for international conferences,” said Mrs Murasiranwa-Hughes.
“As the hub of tourism to Zimbabwe and indeed the wider region, we are excited that the Air Services Development Programme spearheaded by Airports Company of Zimbabwe continues to deliver new routes to the destination to support greater connectivity and access to both Victoria Falls and Harare. Already we are preparing for the anticipated arrival of the inaugural Air Namibia flight on 4 April,” she said.
Local tour operating company, Shearwater Adventures’s public relations manager Mr Clement Mukwasi said this year’s lower season was very low but they are now seeing signs of recovery towards the medium season as there are better bookings now.
“Victoria Falls is ready to host tourists from all over the world as we have re-trained our staff and recruited new staff after Covid-19. Most of our hotels have been refurbished. We have been really sensitive in our pricing models and we are seeing new products coming on board like theatres, food menus; especially traditional and Western menus.
“We are basically ready and able to host conferences of whatever magnitude and we have already started booking conferences for the second and coming seasons. Our projection is that the destination will grow and that in the next few months people will not be able to find any accommodation because of the magnitude of bookings we are already receiving,” said Mr Mukwasi.
He revealed that the development of Victoria Falls is also being aided by the open skies policy that the Government introduced and the development of the airport.
“We have received enquiries from various Westerners who want to invest in land in Victoria Falls and build hotels. We are also seeing local people coming to Victoria Falls to invest.
“Victoria Falls will definitely be the anchor towards the achievement of the five-billion-dollar economy of the tourism industry in both the physical infrastructure and also in the activity area. We are hearing a lot of products being lined up for the coming season,” said Mr Mukwasi.
He said one of the major strengths that the destination has had is that every company respects the environment and as a result all new businesses that are coming to Victoria Falls are carrying out an environmental impact and social assessments which take into account the outstanding investment value of Victoria Falls water cataract.
Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe Victoria Falls Chapter chairperson Mr Chiku Mulinde said the hospitality industry was busy with the hosting of numerous conferences in the first three months of the year.
“As the hospitality industry, we have been quite busy with the hosting of several international and regional conferences. These conferences attracted thousands of delegates which boosted our bookings,” said Mr Mulinde.
Some of the conferences that have been held at the resort city, so far this year, include; the inaugural United Nations Tourism Africa Gastronomy Conference, the International Renewable Energy Conference Expo 2024, the 56th Session of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Conference of Finance Ministers, the second Africa Protected Area Directors Conference 2024, the 4th International Research Conference, the 9th African Diamond Producers Association Ordinary Meeting of the Council of Ministers.
