A’Zambezi River Lodge in successful facelift

the facility, situated on the banks of the Zambezi River in Victoria Falls.
The project, bankrolled by the PTA Bank to the tune of US$3,8 million, has seen the upgrading of the lodge to a four-star rating from three stars previously.
This marks the first major hotel refurbishment undertaken in this country over the past 10 years.
Scores of tourism industry operators from Zimbabwe and South Africa, Government officials, journalists and other stakeholders witnessed the reopening of the lodges last Wednesday, consolidating RTG’s dominance in the tourism sector.
The project, which began four years ago, was undertaken at a time the economy was facing liquidity challenges and other constraints.
RTG itself financed the project to the tune of US$700 000 to augment funds from the PTA Bank.
Speaking at the official opening ceremony in Victoria Falls last week, Zimbabwe Tourism Authority chairperson Mrs Marah Hativagone, who spoke on behalf of Tourism and Hospitality Minister Mr Walter Mzembi, said the relaunch of the A’Zambezi Lodge marked the beginning of a new era in the tourism industry.
Efforts to lure more international and domestic tourists would be taken to a new level through such projects.
“Zimbabwe is in need of more hotels in Harare, Bulawayo and the rest of the country. The current number of hotels is not enough,” said Mrs Hativagone as she stressed the need for Zimbabwe to achieve its target of five million annual arrivals by 2015.
Stakeholders in the hospitality sector would need to work in concert to promote the Zimbabwean brand so that more international tourists would visit this country while also growing domestic tourism.
“Many Zimbabweans do not even know what the Victoria Falls is like. Those in the Diaspora are always saying when we come back to Zimbabwe we want to visit the Falls.
“I would like to see a situation where there is a train that takes people from Harare to Victoria Falls,” she said.
Secretary for Tourism and Hospitality Industry Dr Sylvester Maunganidze commended the PTA Bank for coming to RTG’s aid.
“When Africa assists Africa . . . when brother assists brother and we begin to fund our own projects, it shows that we have come of age.”
He said A’Zambezi now deserved a five-star rating given its new look.
PTA Bank president Dr Michael Gondwe said his bank was always ready to support such initiatives as RTG’s refurbishment drive.
The bank’s presence in the economy was testimony to its confidence in the future of Zimbabwe’s economy.
“We pride ourselves as one of the institutions that have confidence in doing business with Zimbabwe. We have been here at the hour of need and we believe problems the country has been experiencing are transitory in nature,” he said.
RTG acting board chairman Mr Godfrey Manhambara said although the tourism industry had been the first to be hit by the economic challenges of the past decade, the sector would also be the first to fully recover.
A’Zambezi’s upgrading had been a response to concerns by tourists and other stakeholders.
“This investment is a demonstration of our confidence in the recovery of the tourism industry. Other investors should take a leaf from what we have done,” he said.
He commended Government for allowing duty-free importation of raw materials used in the A’Zambezi facelift, saying a similar window would be helpful on other projects.
RTG chief executive Mrs Chipo Mtasa said the refurbishment was taxing but her company had not looked back.
“We felt that this was the right thing to reposition A’Zambezi as the best brand . . . It has been a long journey but here we are today. The feedback has been very positive.
“Naturally we are relieved and excited to be experiencing this day which marks the end of a long journey and the beginning of another milestone for the A’Zambezi River Lodge.
“It is our hope that the final product will exceed guest expectations as we incorporated stakeholder feedback in the refurbishment and upgrading process,” said Mrs Mtasa.
A’Zambezi has been closed for the past three months as finishing touches were being made.
The hotel now boasts 91 state-of-the-art rooms with balconies facing the Zambezi River.
Materials for the upgrade were imported from South Africa and China.