Hoteliers eye tourism boom

TOURISM players in the Eastern Highlands have expressed optimism in high traffic volumes of both local and foreign tourists visiting the area.

Players in the tourism sector are hopeful that the current economic challenges facing the nation are temporary and lasting solutions will soon be found.

The Eastern Highlands is home to renowned hotels such as Troutbeck Inn, White Horse Inn, Golden Peacock Villa, Forest Hills, Montclair and Holiday Inn Mutare.

It also boasts scenic sites such as the Chimanimani Mountains, Nyanga Mountain and National Park, Bvumba Botanical Gardens and Bvumba Mountains, Mtarazi Falls, Bridal Veil Falls in Honde Valley and Chimanimani’s Bridal Veil.

Troutbeck Inn general manager Mr Charlton Chimbira said his hotel last year registered a seven percent increase in local and foreign tourists compared to 2017.

He said they recorded 57 percent in 2018 compared to 50 percent in 2017.

“Things are promising to be even better this year,” said Mr Chimbira.

“We are optimistic that Government will continue to create a conducive environment for tourists. All the fundamentals are showing that we are going to have a good year. The year 2018 was a good year because of traffic from locals and foreigners. We always come up with strategies to make sure that we stay afloat and it has been working.”

One of the managers at Golden Peacock Villa Hotel in Mutare, Mr Willard Madhombiro, said despite a stable influx of local and foreign traffic, they hoped Government would continue empowering drivers of the economy.

“Government has played a critical role to create a peaceful and refreshing environment for local and foreign tourists. Its efforts in promoting domestic tourism have been fruitful. Corporates we have been working with still have confidence in us, thanks to the new dispensation,” he said.

Mr Madhombiro urged the responsible authorities to speed up the process of constructing an airport in Mutare saying it would help in attracting more tourists to the Eastern Highlands.

“Organisations are still coming in because they still have confidence in our services and products. We see a lot of tourists coming. We, however, believe that the construction of an airport will help increase traffic as air connectivity is critical. Average spending per guest is high and we expect it to be higher this year,” he said.

Holiday Inn Mutare general manager Mr Clive Chinwada said: “The tourism and hospitality industry had a great 2018. We are expecting the momentum to be maintained going into 2019 and beyond. Even with the optimism, we would also want to urge Government to attend to and address the currency distortions which continue to cast a dark cloud on the economy.”

Meanwhile, Women in Tourism (Manicaland Chapter) will this year host an expo to showcase the talent that lies within the province from a cultural perspective,

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The association’s chairperson, Ms Rumbidzayi Munhuwani, told The Herald that it was seeking to put women operating in the tourism industry in the spotlight and ensure that they grow their businesses and find partner ships.

“Hopefully this year we will host an expo to showcase all the talent that lies within the province. We will have women exhibiting all their wares and put them in the spotlight to increase their market share,” she said.

She said besides hosting a local expo, the association would also endeavour to create opportunities for women in the tourism industry to attend international expos to expose them to different cultures and international markets.

Ms Munhuwani said this would enable them to create partnerships and source markets for their products to earn foreign currency forthe country.

“We have women who have been weaving baskets and producing different artefacts but they have no market for their products other than in the communities they live, where very few tourists reach.

“We hope to look for markets for these women, be it locally or even at international expos, so that they can sell their products in bulk and increase their income.”

She said there was also a need to create a space where the women sold their wares and everyone who wanted them would easily access them.

“We also want to create a cultural tourism centre where visitors can find all those products under one roof. This will ensure that there is visibility of their products and when the tourists come, they can just visit the place and buy the wares,” Ms Munhuwani said.