adminBusiness Correspondent
CAMBRIA AFRICA the new-proprietors of Vumba’s Leopard Rock Hotel aim to turn the Hotel into a major international conferencing facility, Post Business has learnt. In an interview this week the Cambria Africa non-executive director, Mr Samir Shasha, the former Zimbabwe Online chief executive actively involved in real estate, haulage transport business in Zimbabwe and Southern Africa, revealed that MICE tourism was the future for his Vumba golf resort and casino hotel. MICE is an acronym for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions in reference to a specialized niche of group tourism dedicated to facilitating conferences, seminars and other events.
“The Vumba resort area is a tranquil relaxing area with plenty of potential if economic enablers to maximize the areas’ full potential are put in place. At Leopard Rock Hotel MICE tourism will be our thrust with plans already in place to improve our conferencing capacity to host full-size regional and international conferences,” said Mr Shasha.
He however called for urgency in introducing direct flights to Mutare to make such investments in MICE feasible. “Hotels in Vumba have the potential to compete even against Victoria Falls and in terms of demand but lack of direct flights and easy accessibility is a real obstacle that must be accelerated to boost tourism in the area,” he said.
In August following the Supreme Court ruling that permitted employers to fire workers on three months’ notice, Leopard Hotel joined the bandwagon and dismissed all its employees. However the, hotel recently reopened retaining 130 of the dismissed 200 employees and is now fully operational.
Mr Shasha said he is projecting a 50 percent occupancy increase through the MICE concept at his hotel. “Already we can boast of our 18-hole golf course highly acclaimed internationally, one of the most cool-breeze relaxing weathers in the country and scenic views. All we now need are the enablers,” added Mr Shasha.
In June this year, Mr Shasha was elected as a non-executive director of Cambria Africa. He is one of three directors that was appointed to the Cambria board in accordance with the Share Subscription Agreement between Cambria and Ventures Africa Ltd (VAL), which entitles the later to nominate three additional directors to the board.
VAL purchased Leopard Rock Hotel from Cambria Africa in October 2014 and in April this year gained a majority of voting rights in Cambria after successfully subscribing for 107 million shares in the company for £909 500.
Mr Shasha owns 50.55 percent in Cambria through his company S. Shasha & Associates (Pvt) Ltd that wholly owns Encyclia Logistics (Pvt) Ltd which is a 100 percent shareholder in VAL. According to a statement by Cambria, Mr Shasha set off his business enterprises in Southern Africa through his haulage trucking company. In 1995 he established S. Shasha & Associates in Zimbabwe and introduced Freightliner Trucks in Southern Africa for the first time.
In 2002, S. Shasha & Associates (Pvt) Ltd (Zimbabwe) bought Zimbabwe Online, an Internet service provider in Zimbabwe and took on the role of CEO until 2006. The company was sold to Liquid Telecom in 2012.
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