Rutendo Nyeve [email protected]
ZIMBABWE’S tourism industry is being urged to strengthen its competitiveness as the country advances trade in services negotiations that could open up the sector to greater regional and international competition.
Tourism Ministry, trade officials and industry players, converged in Victoria Falls yesterday for a Matabeleland North Trade in Services sensitisation workshop aimed at preparing local operators for opportunities and challenges arising from the liberalisation of services markets.
The workshop was organised by the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry in conjunction with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.
Speaking on the sidelines of the meeting, director of international tourism in the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Mr Douglas Mavhembu, said consultations with industry players were essential to ensure that policy formulation and trade negotiations reflected the needs of local operators.
“It’s Government policy that whenever we have policies that we are putting in place, we have to consult communities and players in our different sectors,” he said.
Mr Mavhembu said negotiations on trade in services were taking place under the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
He said Zimbabwe was working towards greater liberalisation of tourism and other services to create a competitive environment in which local businesses could participate in regional and international markets.
“We do not want to leave you behind. We have to move forward with our industry, with our sector, to make sure that they keep themselves abreast of trade and negotiating processes that are happening at that level,” said Mr Mavhembu.
He said liberalisation could allow more regional and international operators to enter the market, making it important for local businesses to improve their services and prepare for increased competition.
“This is very, very important because we want to make sure that our operators are ready for competition. Because once you liberalise and open up your sector, what you are saying is that you are now allowing regional and global players to come in,” said Mr Mavhembu.
He said the workshop was intended to equip tourism operators with information about ongoing negotiations and help them identify opportunities in an increasingly integrated global marketplace.
Tourism executive Dr Clement Mukwasi said reducing trade barriers could strengthen regional integration and create opportunities for local operators to reach a wider market.
He said easier movement between countries could encourage more tourists to travel across the region, benefiting tourism businesses and related industries. Dr Mukwasi said reducing barriers to trade could also make it easier for operators to source goods and supplies from other countries and export products to markets where there was demand.
He said the benefits of integration should extend beyond tourism services and the movement of goods to include greater coordination in areas such as aviation, tourism facility grading and regional regulations.
“We are going to talk about grading of our facilities, we’re going to talk about traffic regulations that should be seen across the whole region. That is proper open regional integration, which will actually excel our self-sufficiency process and industry,” said Dr Mukwasi.
The discussions come as Zimbabwe pursues regional and continental integration through trade frameworks intended to expand market access and improve economic cooperation.
