Tourism recovery positive for Dawn African Sun

The re-opening of the tourism sector  has started to yield positive results, Dawn Properties, a property  investor in the industry, has said.

Businesses across the world have been affected by the slow-down in  economic activity due to the Covid-19 induced lockdown.

This was particularly the case in the tourism sector, which depended on  international travel.

“As at October 1, 2020, all the African-Sun-run hotels are back in operation and occupancies are steadily increasing. In the short to  medium term, tourism recovery in Zimbabwe is anticipated to be driven by domestic tourism,” Dawn Properties said in a trading update.

The group’s hotel revenue for the nine months ended September 30, 2020,  at $65,3 million, was 54 percent lower than the revenue achieved  during the same period last year. This was attributed to depressed  occupancies as a result of strict lockdown imposed by the Government  during the second quarter in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Year-to- date average occupancies as at September 30, 2020 stood at 16  percent compared to 41 percent recorded in prior year.

“The group witnessed an increase in hotel occupancies from the previous  quarter as three additional hotels (Monomotapa, Troutbeck and Carribea Bay) were re-opened in July and August 2020.”

Average occupancy for all the hotels for Q3 2020 was 13 percent  compared to 42 percent occupancy achieved during the same period last  year. The two resort hotels, namely Hwange Safari Lodge and Elephant  Hills Hotel were only re-opened in October 2020.

“The operating environment during Q3 2020 under review was however, more  stable compared with the first half of the financial year mainly as a  result of the introduction of the foreign currency exchange auction  system and relaxation of lockdown,” it said. — New Ziana

You Might Also Like

Comments

Take our Survey

We value your opinion! Take a moment to complete our survey