peterSharon Chimenya, Sunday News Reporter
TOURISM players in Masvingo have called for Government intervention in reviving the sector in the province noting that they are still suffering from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Speaking at a meeting organised by the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) recently on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the hospitality industries in the province, the need for financial support to build the industry was raised.
Hotel Associations of Zimbabwe Regional representative Ms Ropafadzaishe Rushwaya said there is a need for investments in Masvingo Province which includes the refurbishment and upgrading of their airport into an international airport.
“Our expectations as the Hotels Association of Zimbabwe mainly focusing on Masvingo Province is Government support through investments.
We see a lot of investments are going on around the country but we need a focus on Masvingo, for instance, our mantra and movement is we need an international airport in Masvingo,” she said.
Mr Fainos Matura chairperson of the Masvingo Publicity Association said the local tourism players needs to work together in order the boost the industry.
“We need to get more support from the Government because tourism was the most affected sector during Covid-19.
Now that the Government has relaxed restrictions, we need to recover, we need assistance to update our facilities.
We need financial assistance in terms of soft loans that we can access as an industry.
As an industry let’s work together.
Let’s do partnerships, they can transform our industry.
For example, if you are fully booked just recommend the clients to your neighbours that way we can win together as Masvingo. Individualism will not help us.”
Domestic tourism was one of the aspects that came under spotlight in which the players were urged to tap into and encourage the local people to visit tourist facilities.
“We are looking at issues like domestic tourism because through Covid-19, domestic tourism came to the fore especially in Zimbabwe.
We had quite a growing domestic tourism industry and we are now recognising that it is important to support that industry going forward.
We can’t keep on relying on foreign tourists because foreign tourists need to be seen rather as a cherry on the top,” said Ms Lee-Anne Back of BDO Advisory Services.
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