Chronicle Editor
Zimbabwe’s tourism sector which was hardest hit by Covid-19 forcing many hotels, lodges and restaurants to close due to lack of business, is already planning for post Covid-19 recovery.
The Covid-19 pandemic which has claimed thousands of lives and infected millions globally, has seen countries imposing travel restrictions as part of measures to contain the spread of the virus.
Many international tourists have been forced to cancel bookings or postpone travel as a result of the travel restrictions. Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Minister Nqobizitha Mangaliso Ndlovu on Tuesday met players in the tourism sector in Harare to craft a post-Covid-19 recovery strategy.
All stakeholders were agreed that it is only through promotion and growth of domestic tourism that the sector can be guaranteed a quick turnaround. The players acknowledged that over the years not much was done to promote domestic tourism hence the over- reliance on international tourism which will take a long time to recover as a result of Covid-19.
Minister Ndlovu said the sector was looking at domestic tourism as an immediate source of relief hence the need to grow it. He said the sector should also come up with strategies of growing regional tourism which could recover faster than international tourism.
Many locals could not afford the prohibitive cost of accommodation and other tourism products hence a few were patronising tourist destinations. This issue should therefore be addressed urgently as part of measures to grow domestic tourism.
There should be special packages for locals who should be able to afford and enjoy their own natural resources in the form of tourism products. It is encouraging to note that the tourism players appreciate the need to bring down the costs and are asking Government to assist so that they can pass on this relief to local tourists by charging less for accommodation and other services.
Minister Ndlovu said the region has not been hit hard by Covid-19 and as such it will not be long before regional tourism roars into life. We need to see more local and regional tourists patronising our tourist destinations and the coming in of international tourists should just be a bonus.
We must learn from countries like China where the bulk of tourism products are consumed by locals. Many Zimbabweans enjoy visiting tourist destinations but were being discouraged by the wrong pricing of products and the negative attitude of the sector towards locals which should completely change.
We want to see more Zimbabweans saving to spend public holidays enjoying themselves at tourist destinations such as Victoria Falls, Great Zimbabwe and other such places.
The Covid-19 experience should have served as a wakeup call that as a nation we cannot solely depend on international tourists. We need deliberate policies that encourage locals to consume our tourism products.
Online Reporter