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Ruth Butaumocho African Agenda
Tourists across the globe woke up to a pleasant surprise early this week when Hong Kong announced that it is planning to give away 500 000 airline tickets to global visitors to boost its Covid-19 hit tourism industry.
According to the Times of India, the incentive is meant to lure thousands of tourists to Hong Kong, an Asian travel hotspot, following a ‘precipitous drop’ in tourism activities owing to the outbreak of Covid-19 and its consequential effects which numbed all sectors of the economy globally.
Announcing the offer, executive director of Hong Kong Tourism Board Dang Cheng, said the free tickets that were bought during the pandemic, will be distributed next year to inbound and outbound travellers by the city’s airport authority.
One can understand the situation Hong Kong finds itself in, as it tries to recoup lost time by luring tourists to its destinations, amid reports that Covid-19 is no longer a global threat.
Hong Kong had some of the world’s toughest quarantine rules as it followed China; zero-Covid-19 policies.
Despite restrictions in mainland China, a free time to check out Hong Kong’s incredible restaurants, best in class bars and good mountain hiking spots would be too good to pass for any discerning tourist yearning for an adventurous holiday.
Elsewhere a flurry of activities are taking place as African countries work tirelessly to reboot their tourism sector, and catch up on lost income, growth and opportunities.
The strategies range from pouring money into recovery plans, cutting accommodation costs and promoting local tourism, while waiting for international tourists to start retracing their footsteps to their favourite holiday destinations.
In South Africa, tourism players are now focusing on local tourism to boost its waning fortunes following a long hiatus owing to the effects of Covid-19.
Although it welcomed more than 10 million international tourists in 2019, South Africa is aware that the same feat may take long to achieve, hence its overtures to promote domestic tourism.
Rwanda is developing a recovery strategy that also includes developing local and regional markets, which it considers as low hanging fruits, while making efforts to lure the international market.
In response to the challenges being faced in tourism, Kenya has had to cut entry fees to all game parks and reserves for one year to attract more local tourists.
The common thread cutting through most countries, is that domestic tourism is a vital sector that cannot be ignored.
It is increasingly becoming clear that countries need to invest and realign in domestic tourism strategies to strengthen great resilience for individual countries should a pandemic like Covid-19 occur in the near future.
It is heartening that Zimbabwe’s tourism sector is also on the rebound and unprecedented growth trajectory with the visitors to the Victoria Falls outpacing the capacity to accommodate them.
The growth is being attributed to improved accessibility of tourism products and destination route connectivity in terms of domestic and international transportation as more lines come to Zimbabwe.
Aggressive marketing, which is being ably supported by the “Zimbabwe is open for business” mantra, is helping in pushing the country’s prime tourist destinations.
Commenting on the surge in tourism activities, President Mnangagwa said the tourism sector was “rocketing.”
“Our tourism is not rising, it is rocketing. This all shows that the country is at peace, there is no country that can develop while there is conflict. Let us unite and develop together as a people and rejects merchants of violence,” President Mnangagwa.
The robust and progressive developments in the tourism sector, did not happen overnight, but are as a result of aggressive marketing, consistency, research and observing trends and traits in the tourism sector.
Industries are continually disrupted by new trends and innovations, and the tourism industry is no exception to this.
Keeping pace with these emerging tourism trends is key to sustain the positive rebound that Zimbabwe is now enjoying.
However, as it rebounds, it is important that we reflect on its future direction, so that the sector does not continue to implement archaic strategies, albatross to growth.
With the globe still smarting from the effects of Covid-19, some of these needs have evolved, priorities have shifted, and entirely new requirements have emerged.
Apart from the need for tourism players to focus on healthy and organic food and drinks, what is clear is that domestic tourism is the game changer if players are to survive and the see the next day.
Although over the years, most countries have been focusing on international tourism due to the revenue earned through exports, domestic tourism remains the leading form of tourism, representing an important tool for individual country and regional economic growth and development.
According to the World Travel Tourism Council’s (WTTC), domestic travel represents 73 percent of the total tourism spend globally.
China, one of the highly revered tourism destination for discerning tourists learnt that a long time ago, and has over the years, been developing infrastructure investing in the development of a rail and network and air infrastructure to accommodate the expansion of low income earners keen on travelling.
Low levels of passport ownership among the population, partly due to discretionary income, has furthered fuelled the growth of domestic tourism in countries like China, India and Brazil, where domestic tourism is thriving.
Zimbabwe is now in a better position than before to grow its domestic tourism because of the ongoing good road developments, expansion of airports, sprucing up of the existing infrastructure, construction of malls, hotels and the general ambience across tourist destinations throughout the country. There can never be a better time for the country than now to bolster domestic tourism, which sadly has been growing at a snail pace over the years.
Apart from opening up the country to its local people, several advantages are attached to domestic tourism.
This include immense opportunities for contribution to national development goals such as economic growth, job creation, and poverty alleviation.
While Zimbabwe waits for the return of international tourist to the country, tourism players would need to further develop domestic tourism to ensure good recovery, and survival of the tourism industry during and post Covid-19 pandemic period.
Worldwide, a lot of tourists are sitting on the fence and are not sure yet whether they should start travelling international for fear of importing new and dangerous variants of the novel coronavirus.
With health and safety, disposable income availability, travel restrictions, and economic performances, where economic recession is being felt in several other countries, international tourists may take longer than necessary to find their footing, leaving domestic tourism as the only sustainable strategy that countries may need to work with.
The sector also provides the rationale for upgrading and development of infrastructure-is currently happening in Zimbabwe and also instils national pride and patriotism in people.
However, the tourism sector in Zimbabwe would need to seriously think about how best they can bolster the sector, through a number of rudimentary but necessary changes.
One of them is the pricing system for most local players, which locals have since described as “extortionist” in nature.
Over the years, there have been a clarion call for differentiated pricing to cater for local and international tourists, to cater for more local tourists.
Pegging the price of one-night accommodation at a three star hotel at US$80 is something that only a few local tourists can afford. However, the industry continues to defend their pricing saying a lot of factors drive its prices up.
Once the pricing regime has been addressed, Zimbabwe should begin to witness a positive trajectory and sustenance of the sector.
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