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Victoria Falls Reporter
The tourism industry is counting losses on the backdrop of the Covid-19 third wave, which has seen the travel and tourism business decline and more people falling sick.

The industry now wants Government to provide a bailout, saying if the current state of affairs continues, most operators will have to close leading to massive job losses. While the industry has remained open in Victoria Falls during the ongoing Level 4 lockdown, operators said they are not getting clients at all because of a ban on intercity travel, reversing small gains recorded recently.

Domestic tourism had begun to pick up in the absence of international clients as locals travelled from other parts of the country to Victoria Falls, where the bulk of the population has been vaccinated, especially for conferences and meetings.

Airlines had also started flying into Victoria Falls, but the third wave of Covid-19, which is spreading fast causing many deaths per day, has forced some airlines to scale down operations as the number of travellers has considerably reduced. Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe Matabeleland North chairperson Mr Anald Musonza has said the industry was under siege, with hardly any revenue and no Government financial help.

“Employees are also hard hit by the last 15 months of suppressed to no earnings and the current situation may result in more job losses in the Hospitality and Tourism Industry,” said Mr Musonza.

Victoria Falls is hard hit as a city because before the outbreak of the pandemic, as the whole city’s economic activity is anchored on tourism.