ZTA raps ‘greedy’ hoteliers
THE Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) has expressed concern over the high pricing regime of hospitality industry products, which is stifling efforts to boost domestic tourism.
“As ZTA, we are convinced that something really needs to be done on pricing. This includes the pricing of our hotel rooms and other services. They are just exorbitant and a multi-stakeholder approach is needed to find a solution.
“The issue of pricing also dovetails into the domestic tourism promotion drive that we are undertaking as an authority. There is no way we really can expect our ordinary citizens to afford the current rates offered by our operators, hence there is need to explore packages that can be affordable to domestic tourists as well,” said corporate communications manager Mr Godfrey Koti.
He also highlighted that inspection of standards in the industry was part of a cocktail of measures aimed at improving brand Zimbabwe as a world class tourist destination.
“We have other measures that relate to issues to do with pricing of hospitality industry products.
“We are seeking to standardise operations of the hospitality sector and ensure that all operators are compliant with the terms of the Tourism Act of 1996 Chapter 14:20 Section 57, which states that all designated tourist facilities should be registered with us,” he said.
Mr Koti said they had embarked on a blitz to fish out non-compliant and illegal operators while promoting world-class standards in the hospitality industry.
“We have already covered Harare under this exercise. About 80 percent of operators in Harare are maintaining the minimum standards while 20 percent failed to meet them. We are really serious about having our operators meet the minimum acceptable standards and that is why some that did not meet the minimum standards were shut down,” he said
Recently, ZTA chief operations officer Mr Givemore Chidzidzi also revealed that the blitz was meant to restore order and sanity to operations in the industry while the country geared for economic growth.
At least 48 hospitality operators in Manicaland province were found to be running unregistered facilities.
“Before the operation, we advised all operators to regularise their businesses and gave them the deadline of 31 March, 2018, which has since lapsed,” said Mr Chidzidzi.
ZTA findings show that the key affected areas in Manicaland Province include Nyanga, Mutare, Chimanimani, Vumba and Chipinge.
Mr Chidzidzi, however, said operators would get a reprieve with ZTA officers currently engaging on a case-by-case visit to ensure that no one was left out. He warned that failure to comply after this exercise would result in the authority taking legal action against offenders. “It is not only about registration but complying with standards because registration comes with minimum standards and if they are not being met then registration is invalid.
“If they do not meet the standards whether in accommodation, restaurant, tour operation or visitor attraction we are not going to hesitate to let the Act be enforced across the whole tourism sector,” he added.
A registration fee of $300 is paid to the ZTA with options for longterm payment plans while a further two percent levy is also paid monthly to the authority.
Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe (HAZ) Manicaland representative Mr Leonard Bwanya welcomed the ZTA blitz saying it would ensure that operators that had been profiteering at the expense of legal operations would comply.
He, however, urged the authority to review its registration fees and levies’ considering that activities in the industry have been subdued.
Unregistered players have often been accused of undercutting into foreign currency generation potential and to be responsible for the 14,71 percent drop in foreign currency receipts from over $177 million in 2016 to below $151 million in 2017.
International arrivals in the region account for five percent of hotel occupancy, while domestic tourism contribute 40-45 percent per year in Manicaland, resulting in subdued foreign currency receipts.