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PLANS by the Tourism and Hospitality Ministry to introduce holiday incentives to encourage civil servants to visit and stay at the country’s tourist destinations dotted around the country is a welcome development.
The move will definitely boost domestic tourism and assist the industry achieve its revenue target of $5 billion by 2020. It is a fact that many Zimbabweans have never been to many of the country’s tourist destinations because most of them cannot afford to pay for accommodation and other services. Minister Mzembi said his Ministry has already submitted to the Civil Service Commission, a document detailing a visitor scheme for civil servants aimed at attracting more holiday makers.
He said some of the proposed incentives include subsidised rates for accommodation and transport fares. The government is the biggest employer with about 230,000 workers on its payroll. Introducing incentives for civil servants is therefore a good starting point. The obtaining scenario whereby some individuals know tourist destinations in other countries better than their own is not acceptable.
Minister Mzembi said the proposed incentives will also go a long way in addressing capacity issues.
“For instance, Air Zimbabwe is flying to Victoria Falls or Kariba with many empty seats. Most lodges at the national parks around the country are operating at below 15 percent. So why can’t we be innovative and have incentives for civil servants to enhance capacity. The ingredients of doing it are there,” said Minister Mzembi.
The proposals by Minister Mzembi could start with civil servants and can later be broadened to include all potential domestic tourists. The package, as already observed by some analysts, could be extended to special packages for regional tourists say from Sadc. There have been complaints that our tourism products are very expensive compared to what is being offered by other countries.
Our accommodation, meals and other services are very expensive and there is therefore urgent need to review the pricing of our tourism products so that we remain competitive. It does not make business sense for lodges to operate at below 15 percent when there is potential to operate at 100 percent once affordable rates are introduced. The tourism industry cannot be divorced from the level of salaries being earned by the majority of Zimbabweans if it is to benefit from domestic tourism. What this therefore means is that the rates that operators in the industry charge should be affordable to the majority of workers in the country.
Zimbabweans enjoy going on holiday but over the years many have resorted to visiting their rural areas during holidays because they cannot afford to be at the country’s holiday resorts such as Victoria Falls, Hwange, Nyanga and many others in the different corners of the country. There is therefore need for a buy in to Minister Mzembi’s proposal for incentives to promote domestic tourism. Tourism is a critical sector given that it contributes 10 percent to the national gross domestic product which is expected to rise to 15 percent next year.
The growth of the tourism industry will therefore have a direct positive impact on the growth of the national economy hence the need to take measures to promote its growth.
We want to once again call for urgent implementation of the proposed incentives which, as already observed, should be extended to include all potential domestic tourists.
Online Reporter