eBusiness Weekly
Debbie Peters
When I decided to write about Zimbabwe’s tourism sector a couple of weeks ago, all the key players were at the Sanganai/Hlanganani Tourism Expo in Bulawayo and many tour operators were in Zimbabwe to prospect the market for their Africa destination packages.
As a local tourist who grew up in a family that loves to travel, my family went to all the major holiday resorts in Zimbabwe when I was growing up.
I was born in Mutare, and last year I was feeling nostalgic for the Eastern Highlands so we went off to Vumba and Nyanga over the Heroes’ holiday.
Apart from Tony’s Teashop where the cakes are still amazing but at $12 a slice, tourism standards have fallen and hotels in the Eastern Highlands are mostly empty. Last Christmas, I went to Victoria Falls with friends and stayed at The Kingdom, which still costs $250 per room, at a discount.
I have stayed at The Kingdom several times, it is overpriced and the rooms are run down now. They say 20 percent of a hotel’s profits are supposed to go towards renovations. Victoria Falls is like another country altogether because it is an island of prosperity in a country of economic challenges. There are new bars and restaurants opening up such as The River Brewing Company and when I was taking a walk to the craft market, I came across Shearwater’s fabulous new hotel which was charging only $130 per night.
Recently, I met Tariro Ndebele, the COO for African Sun and asked her why they don’t do smart pricing, where room rates adjust according to demand.
She argued that their computer systems are not equipped for that but surely they can get new IT systems. Zimbabwe’s hotels are expensive, not only for locals but for foreigners too.
We had lunch at the popular Lookout Café next to the zip-lining at the gorge, and met some friends from Harare who had chosen to stay across the border in Botswana because it was cheaper.
Many visitors opt to stay in Livingstone, Zambia, because the hotels are cheaper. We joke that Zambia has stolen our Victoria Falls because they now market it as a Zambian destination.
Carl Joshua Ncube, Zimbabwe’s most famous comedian, now lives in Victoria Falls where he is the restaurant general manager at Zambezi House.
According to him, ever since the new dispensation came into power, Victoria Falls has not had an off peak season and the biggest problem now is that there has not been enough bed nights and the new Victoria Falls International Airport has had a profound impact on tourist arrivals.
Wengai Nhau also confirmed that the elections did not affect tourism because there was an increase in arrivals during July and August. Most tourists who come to Victoria Falls are on a package with other destinations such as Cape Town, so they are offered a stop in Victoria Falls as an add-on, but spend the majority of their time in other countries.
Prices in Zimbabwe are very high, we paid an average of $50 per person for buffets over Christmas. The other issue that could affect tourism is the cholera outbreak because most countries issue health warnings to their citizens when they travel. Victoria Falls is an anomaly so I set out to understand the factors that affect tourism in the country as a whole. I sat down for an interview with Fastjet Zimbabwe CEO, Peter Barry.
Fastjet has two planes now which fly to Johannesburg, Victoria Falls, Bulawayo and Dar es Salaam, and they will soon be adding Lusaka to their route.
The biggest problem in Africa is intra-Africa connectivity and the new Victoria Falls Airport helps to remedy this. The great thing about the new Victoria Falls Airport is that airlines like Kenya Airways and Ethiopian Airlines can stop there on their way to South Africa, without having to stop in Harare.
Most travel agents sell package tours which include a safari in Kenya, Victoria Falls, Botswana and Cape Town. The new airport has been a game-changer because it allows bigger planes to land at Victoria Falls, like the 250 seater that South Africa Airways (SAA) flies on that route.
The biggest challenge to the airline industry is the cash crisis. Kenya Airways has just announced that they will only be accepting payments in US dollars or foreign credit cards and they will no longer be selling their tickets through travel agents.
Fastjet, SAA and Air Zimbabwe are the remaining airlines which accept payment in local currency. All the airlines are owed millions of dollars which are stuck in Zimbabwe, and SAA alone is owed $60 million in plane ticket sales so they only accept local currency for itineraries originating from Zimbabwe.
To remain competitive, Fastjet has reinvented itself as a value airline, not a budget airline, so they now offer free refreshments and a snack.
Passengers found the idea of paying for food and drink onboard a bit off-putting. There are no European airlines flying into Zimbabwe anymore, there was talk about the new Zimbabwe Airways flying to London but the Boeing 777 is still out for maintenance.
Within the cities, most hotels are experiencing low occupancy rates.
The only bright spot is the conferencing business which is on the upswing and Cresta Lodge is one of the leading venues, at about 70 percent occupancy.
Other sources of income are churches and weddings. There has been an increase in the number of lodges springing up in Harare, with some of the more exclusive ones like Highlands House and Amanzi Lodges charging more than hotels.
Zimbabweans are catching on to the global trend of renting out rooms in their homes on AirBnB but there is a lot of rooms listed on the platform while there are limited tourist arrivals, so prices keep dropping and bookings are low.
I was also an AirBnB host until prices dropped to half within a year so it was no longer worth it.
Please send comments on Twitter @debbienpeters or email [email protected]
