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Patrick Chitumba Senior Reporter
VICTORIA Falls Municipality is mulling the introduction of “tourist tolling” – a development that will result in council collecting money from each tourist visiting the resort town.
Mayor Sifiso Mpofu said while it was true that the cash-strapped council was mooting introducing tourist tolling – it was still premature to discuss the matter in detail.
“It is a plan we are working on but it is still premature to discuss it. I understand that there are still consultations taking place,” he said.
A clash is looming between council and players in the tourism industry who feel tourists are already paying too many levies on their visit to Victoria Falls.
However, sources in the municipality said the idea was mooted as a way of raising revenue.
Council owes the government about $4,5 million, Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra), Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) and other utilities over $6 million.
“Council is broke and is looking at any means of raising revenue. So it is mooting this idea of making tourists pay an extra fee to it for visiting the town. If the plan sails through, operators will be collecting the money on behalf of the council,” said the source.
Tour and adventure operators have vowed not to cooperate with the council arguing that the move was detrimental to the growth of tourism.
“Already there are Zimbabwe National Parks Management Authority park fees tourists are paying and we can’t have them pay another fee to the municipality. For what really? For visiting the town? So we can’t have another one from the council since it will make the destination expensive for tourists,” said a tour operator on condition of anonymity.
Operators said council should look at other means of raising revenue other than tolling the tourists.
“Whatever fee they are proposing it won’t work. We can’t have our tourists forced to pay money to the council for visiting this town. There are more than enough levies already some of which we feel are not necessary,” said a tour operator.
In his 2014 National Budget, Finance and Economic Development Minister Patrick Chinamasa proposed that a 15 percent value added tax be imposed on payments for accommodation and services by foreign tourists.
The VAT players in the industry have argued that it would scare away foreign tourists since it was the first of its kind in the world.
derick.khumalo