Hotel occupancy in Midlands drops

Lovemore Zigara Midlands Correspondent
HOTEL occupancy in the Midlands has declined despite the onset of the festive season, mainly because there are limited tourist attractions, hoteliers said in separate interviews last week.

Bookings at some hotels and lodges in the province are so low that they would be forced to close during the festive season at a time when hotels in areas such as Victoria Falls and Nyanga are recording brisk business because of the availability of tourist attractions.

The Midlands province, hospitality industry derives most of its businesses from the corporate world, especially the mining sector, which will be scaling down production during the festive season. Zvishavane-based Pote Hotel’s guest relations manager Miss Melissa Zuvaradoka confirmed the decline in room occupancy.

“We have started noticing a difference in December as the hotel occupancy has gone down. Most of our business comes from businesspeople, non-governmental organisations and mines and now as we approach the end of the year they are winding up their business and preparing to go on holiday,” she said.

Miss Zuvaradoka said her hotel was now focusing on functions such as weddings to compensate for the loss of business. Mr Bernard Mlauzi, the manager of Gweru lodge, Tranquillity, said the absence of major holiday resorts or tourists attractions in the province was contributing to the low uptake of rooms.

“Business is now low because we do not have tourist attractions. If we had major holiday resorts in the province, I believe it would be a different story,” he said.

Gweru-based Mpumalanga Lodge manager Mr Cosmos Tsvangira said: “As we go towards the festive season the room occupancy will drop as we do not have any other activities that we do at our lodge except for conferencing and during this time most companies are closing for the holidays, so there is no business for us.”