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The successful hosting of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation General Assembly by Zimbabwe and Zambia in August last year showcased the nation’s ability to host international audiences but the positive impact on changing the perception of the country as a safe tourism haven is yet to be fully felt

The country hosted the 20th session of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) General Assembly by Zimbabwe and Zambia in August last year.
While this platform showcased the nation’s ability to host international audiences, the positive impact on changing the perception of the country as a safe tourism haven is yet to be fully felt. The government is projecting that the tourism sectors’ contribution to GDP will grow by 5,1 percent in 2014 and a further 5 percent in 2015.

Many have however taken this with a pinch of salt due to seemingly endless challenges that are catapulting the overall performance of the sector. Whereas the sector has great potential to grow, it is currently choking as a result of these unresolved challenges.

A few weeks ago African Sun, a major player in the industry released its interim results and revenue for the period under review was down 4 percent.
The group reported a loss for the period ending 31 March 2014 of $766,172 against a profit of $914,432 comparable period last year. Of interest was the drop in domestic volumes by 6.65 percent and a corresponding 13 percent reduction in domestic market rooms’ revenue.

This comes as no surprise as the different segments of the population, who are potential domestic tourists, have been affected by the current economic environment.
There is no vibrant middle class, and those nearing or in the retired age group do not have sufficient benefits to spend on a holiday, the younger generation only dreams of touring the beautiful places that Google tells them are in their country.

Hoteliers have lamented the same indicating that the bulk of their business is now being achieved through conferencing. At the same time, conferencing business has not been as high as before, giving an overall gloomy picture of the sector under the economic woes.

Although players in the industry are refurbishing their hotels in order to meet the demands of their prime customer who is not only a modern traveller, but one who is educated, well-read and knows the value of their dollar, other areas which facilitate the growth of the industry are lagging behind.

The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority whose mandate is to manage the entire wildlife population of Zimbabwe is operating on an $8 million budget deficit annually and is in need of recapitalisation. Transport linkages to various tourist destinations still need upgrading so as to increase the product offering to the tourist.

For the Parks and Wildlife, it is essential that they have a functional road network to enable tourists to tour the parks. However, wildlife parks such as Nyanga are a nightmare to tour due to a terrible road network that make the park almost inaccessible. In addition to infrastructure problems, ownership conflicts in the Save Conservancy for example, are likely to worry foreign tourists who might fear that the destination is not safe. This is however unfortunate as the conservancy was a popular tourist destination for foreign hunters and photographers raking in significant revenue for the tourism sector.

In response to the challenges in the industry, players have come up with innovative ways to try and stimulate spending in this sector. In order to encourage domestic tourism, the Rainbow Tourism Group (RTG) has a “stay now, pay later” scheme which enables companies or individuals to pay for their stay in instalments.

Smaller players in the industry who do not have capacity to market themselves are engaging into partnerships with bigger players so as to ride on their centralised booking systems and increase revenue.

With growth in the local city hotel business being limited, African Sun continues to pursue a strategy of regional expansion after it recently opened a new city hotel in Accra. The hotel is only a ten minutes’ drive from the city centre and only five minutes’ drive from the Kotoka International Airport and hence is targeted for the business traveller.

As tourism thrives on perception there has been an aggressive marketing campaign from the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality.
The country has held two annual carnivals with the aim of advancing the arts, culture and heritage of Zimbabwe and to showcase the country as a peaceful tourism destination. Whilst this is positive, the tourism sector however, cannot realize its potential in isolation as it is well integrated with other sectors of the economy.

In order to achieve the desired growth from the tourism industry, policies that revamp and support economic growth are necessary to uplift the standard of living of the locals.

Only then can domestic tourism register an improvement, as the economic slump currently being witnessed is more to do with reduced disposable income than anything else. It becomes pointless for some ministers to market the country as a safe tourist destination when others are destroying that effort. Restoration of rule of law is key to reaffirm that the country is a safe destination for all.  Given our tourist attractions, it should not be difficult to attract foreign tourists if the perception out there is positive. – Zimnat Asset Management.