Tourism sector welcomes bond notes incentive

THE tourism and hospitality industry has welcomed the five percent bond notes incentive extended to the sector by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) under the bond notes facility.

In his 2017 monetary policy statement presented two weeks ago, central bank Governor Dr John Mangudya, said Government has decided to reward the tourism sector as it was contributing to foreign exchange earnings.

Players in the tourism sector who spoke to Business Chronicle said the development was going to impact positively on their operations.

Employers’ Association of Tourism and Safari Operators president, Mr Clement Mukwasi, said:

“This is a good development and an enabler to all companies, big and small. We welcome the announcement as it will benefit us in our operations. We have been waiting for such a development, which incentivises us as operators”.

He said the sector was optimistic of improved arrivals this year. Mr Mukwasi said 95 percent of their business comes from international clients with domestic tourists accounting for the remainder.

“We, however, feel additional incentives should be added such as free duty on importation of vehicles of all kinds that are used in tourism. This also includes certain foodstuffs, which are not available locally so that we help bring in more forex,” he said.

The chief executive of Africa Albida Tourism (AAT), a hospitality group with hotels, lodges and restaurants in Southern Africa’s tourist destinations, Mr Ross Kennedy said: “Any incentives and concessions to stimulate growth and investment are most welcome. We also benefit from duty rebates on capital goods for refurbishment and new projects which is valuable and appreciated”.

AAT recently rebranded its flagship eatery The Boma — Place of Eating to The Boma — Dinner & Drum Show whose dishes are now varied including a wide range of traditional foods, spiced up with different tastes of entertainment meant to meet international standards.

Mr Kennedy said they were hoping to get new records of clients this year after hosting more than 60 000 tourists in 2016 and more than a million guests in its 25 years of existence.

“We have to stay very alert and focused on world trends and standards to survive in this industry since we are competing with other destinations,” he said. — @ncubeleon