Kariba hotels fully booked for festive season

LAST-MINUTE bookings for hotels in Kariba and other towns in Mashonaland West Province are still trickling in amid optimism of more day excursions this festive season.

This comes as all hotels, lodges and other accommodation facilities are fully booked for the festive season in Kariba while bookings are still ongoing in other areas.

According to tourism players in Kariba, there has been a marked increase in bookings for houseboats and holiday homes.

In an interview, Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe vice president Mr Innocent Manyera said there is a significant number of tourists following up on their bookings.

“People are still making bookings and Kariba and Victoria Falls are fully booked,” said Mr Manyera.

“It shows that city hotels in Kadoma and Chinhoyi are around 50 percent in terms of bookings for the festive season while for Kariba occupancy is 100 percent.”

He said there are indications of more people going on day trips to places such as Mazvikadei, Kadoma and Chinhoyi Caves.

Mr Manyera said the new order on the road following the return of the reoriented Zimbabwe Republic Police will also encourage people to travel.

“The main challenge for players in the tourism industry has been the high number of roadblocks on the roads, especially for foreign tourists,” he said.

“Recent developments in the past one-and-half months were quite an exciting period for prospective tourists even if you talk to them on Skype. There are saying people are not supposed to be punished for travelling.”

At least 72 percent of foreign tourists come from South Africa, but local tourism is expected to play a key role this festive season.

“We are expecting quite a number of activities and local tourists coming to Mashonaland West Province and other areas in the country,” he said.

Mr Manyera said tourism operators will play a key role in decision making so that any policies made by Government do not affect the industry.

To that end, operators and the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry are working on a 100-Day Plan to revive the industry.

The plan will primarily focus on domestic tourism to build confidence locally for reference to foreign tourists.

It will look at packages that are within the reach of locals.