Plans underway to develop Tourism Satellite Account
THE Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) says plans are underway to develop a Tourism Satellite Account, which is a statistical instrument designed to measure tourism performance and its contribution to the economy.
The establishment of a Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) also allows for the generation of tourism economic data that is comparable with other national statistics.
Speaking during a workshop to disseminate results for the 2015/16 Visitors Exit Survey (VES) in Harare on Tuesday, ZTA acting chief executive officer Mr Givemore Chidzidzi said the VES results have given them intelligence critical in sharpening their marketing strategies.
“Indeed, this feedback is going to help us build a destination of repute. The results of the survey can also be used beyond the tourism industry as other sectors that either supply or enable tourism can also gain useful information for their own plans and strategies,” he said.
“Now that this chapter has been successfully concluded, we look forward to the next stage of the journey towards the building of our TSA.”
The survey was carried out during the period July 2015 to June 2016 following a request from the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry to the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (Zimstat) to conduct the survey.
The next stage is the Domestic Market and Outbound Surveys (DMOS), which basically seek to evaluate the extent of the participation of local residents and to unravel the factors affecting local participation in tourism.
Mr Chidzidzi said the upcoming stage also requires funding and ZTA was appealing for financial and other material assistance from stakeholders across the board.
Speaking at the same occasion, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Economic Planning and Investment Promotion Dr Desire Sibanda said the main objective of the 2015/16 VES was to provide invaluable information targeted at guiding business decision-making by tourism operators as well as policy formulation and tourism development planning by the Government.
He said tourism continues to play an important role in the global economy and due to its strong economic multiplier effects, it can provide low hanging fruits for the generation of foreign currency.
Dr Sibanda added that tourism was still one of the largest employers in most countries including Zimbabwe.
In his welcoming remarks, Zimstat director-general Mr Mutasa Dzinotizei said VES was a sample based survey designed to gather an array of information on the characteristics of visitors to Zimbabwe.
He said such information cannot be obtained through the official entry and exit declaration forms.
For the survey, the points of exit were Harare International Airport, Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport, Victoria Falls International Airport, Victoria Falls Barrier, Beitbridge, Chirundu, Forbes, Nyamapanda, Kazungula and Plumtree.