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Wilson Dakwa, Business Reporter
THE Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe (HAZ) has welcomed Government’s decision to re-grade hospitality facilities and ban unlicensed operators, saying this will go a long way towards restoring sanity and curbing unwarranted overcharging in the sector.
HAZ president Mr Innocent Manyera said the re-grading process was long overdue as various stakeholders have over the years been complaining that most local hoteliers were over-pricing their services while their standards were below par compared to their counterparts in the region.
“The re-grading of hotels is a welcome move which will reposition players in the sector to their rightful places. Stakeholders in the tourism sector have since complained that they were being short-changed as the rates in Zimbabwe were too high yet the standards aren’t at par with the service.
“Some also said we need to work on our standards as they are not competitive with those offered by our regional counterparts. In a bid to maintain our image, there is a need for the rates and services to be at par. Hence, the blitz will ensure that no hotel or lodge charges more than it should,” said Mr Manyera.
Employers’ Association of Tourism and Safari Operators president Mr Clement Mukwasi said the re-grading process was a welcome move but clients have their own preference with regards to the hotel or lodge they intend to be accommodated in.
Announcing a $15 million tourism facility put together by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), the Central Bank’s Governor Dr John Mangudya last week said a lot of Zimbabwe’s top hotels do not change their linen, with bed sheets often smelling of cigarette smoke and were dirty.
In a scathing attack to the hospitality industry, Dr Mangudya said the appalling standards are the reason the industry is not doing well.
“I won’t say which hotels, but the beds are old, the sheets are old; I think they have not been changed because they will be smelling of cigarettes too much,” he said.
The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) said the re-grading process, which has been code named: “Operation Restore Order” would likely see hotels and lodges with five star ratings tumbling while others might become ungraded.
“Zimbabwe has one of the best infrastructure and human resources when it comes to the hospitality sector. This is why you find that there are a significant number of Zimbabweans waiters and hotel managers who are based in our neighbouring countries.
“Tourism is a leisure industry and this means that people participate in it according to their budget.
“The re-grading process has to be conducted with this in mind. People go where they feel they will get value for money which is why if they feel that the “overrated” hotels and lodges overcharge them, they will go to cheaper places. It’s all about what the clients want, it can be status of just staying in an expensive place regardless of the service or value for money,” said Mr Mukwasi.
The Government has also given a three-month moratorium for all unregistered tourism operators to obtain the requisite licences for their businesses or risk being closed.
Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Prisca Mupfumira said the blitz on unregistered tourism operators was aimed at promoting sanity and fairness in the sector.
“It is disheartening to note that there are a number of operators who are illegally operating and offering tourism services in contravention of the Tourism Act Chapter 14:20 of 1996. Such players are offering unfair competition to genuine tourism operators and are defrauding Government of revenue. I therefore wish to encourage and persuade all such unregistered operators to ensure they register their tourism businesses between now and the end of March 2018.
“Thereafter, I will direct the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, in conjunction with relevant arms of the law to undertake a blitz on all unregistered operators. I urge concerned parties to take heed of this moratorium that I have issued. As Government we will ensure that no unregistered operator benefits from this facility. It should benefit only those operators duly registered by the ZTA,” she said.
Mr Manyera said unregistered tourism operators were presenting unfair competition to the licensed ones.
“Unregistered operators have minimal costs because they don’t pay things like the ZTA levy and licences.
“This means that they have cheaper rates and given that most Zimbabweans have low disposable income, they may prefer services of cheaper operators even though the service may be below standard,” he said. -@WilsonDakwa1
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