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Hospitality group, Cresta Hotels said yesteray it has appointed Ms Chipo Mandela as new country manager for its Zimbabwean operations.

A chartered accountant by profession, Ms Mandela takes over from Glen Stutchbury, who left the group after six years at the helm.

Besides Zimbabwe, Cresta Hotels also has operations in Botswana and South Africa.

Ms Mandela immediately announced that the group was targeting to invest $6 million to refurbish one of its hotels, Cresta Oasis located in the centrals business district of the capital.

“The Zimbabwean travel and tourism sector is set to grow and expand as a result of the new political dispensation,” she said.

“Cresta Hotels will be part of this and we aim to continuously enhance our product offering, as evidenced by the refurbishment of Cresta Churchill in Bulawayo.”

She said Cresta Jameson, also in Harare, was poised for a “soft” refurbishment of bedrooms “to enhance its vibrant urban gateway feel.”

Cresta Jameson last year spent over $700 000 in room upgrades.

The government has said it is targeting a marginal growth in tourist arrivals this year from around 2,1 million last year to 2,4 million this year.

The hospitality group has in the past few years rolled out million dollar refurbishments of its hotels which targeted Cresta Lodge in Harare and Cresta Churchill in Bulawayo.

The upgrades were aimed at keeping the group’s hotels in line with global trends as well as ensuring that it remained poised to take advantage of a pick in arrivals.

Cresta Oasis which is the target of the $6 million investment is a 110-roomed three-star hotel which was opened to the public in the early 1970s.

At the 171-roomed Cresta Lodge, the group spent over $7 million in sprucing up the hotel to international standards in the past three years.

Cresta Hotels is a subsidiary of conglomerate, TA Holdings. — New Ziana.