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Richard Muponde, Business Correspondent
ZIMBABWE’s tourism industry will soon have a three-tier pricing regime with different charges for international, regional and domestic tourists to encourage the increase in tourist arrivals in the country considering the strengthening of the US dollar against other currencies in the region.
The proposal is still being debated and figures have not yet been arrived at but stakeholders in the sector said there was momentum in the realisation of the need to come up with a pricing regime which will see tourists being charged in accordance with where they are coming from.
Employers’ Association for the Tourism and Safari Operators (Eatso) president Mr Clement Mukwasi confirmed the new development and said they were still consulting with stakeholders before coming up with a policy announcement.
“What we are saying is that the regional currencies are getting weaker and weaker to the US dollar. South African rand, Botswana pula and Zambian kwacha are the three currencies that constitute the majority of our regional market. What has been happening of late is that South Africans in particular who constitute the majority of our regional tourists have been hard hit by the exchange rate. The problem is coming from the fact that they earn in their domestic currency not the US dollar,” said Mr Mukwasi.
He said the country’s prices were modelled around the international comparable destinations and therefore generally acceptable when it comes to international markets.
“The problem now comes on the buying power of our regional markets. Now that we are approaching one of the major year end holidays its only incumbent upon tourism players to be market wise and be sensitive to the abilities of the regional markets. The international prices for tourists remain as they are of course with the usual incentives we give at the end of the year which include specials,” he said.
Mr Mukwasi said there was also need to review prices for domestic tourists so that they also get to visit places of interest.
“Although domestic tourists earn US dollars their earnings have not reached international standards. Zimbabwe’s economy in dollar form is very young. We just dollarised five years ago and you don’t expect the economy to be competitive enough for locals to have the same prices with international markets. There is also the issue of the sense of ownership of the natural resources such as the Victoria Falls, the Zambezi River and wildlife by domestic tourists, so they should get a preferential pricing system. Domestic tourists should pay the least,” Mr Mukwasi said.
He said domestic tourism was not only about luxury but a need, as it was a stress reliever from the hustle and bustle of city life and pressure associated with work and also cementing of relationship since Zimbabweans have also adopted the culture of honey-mooning.
Mr Mukwasi said relegating domestic tourists would be insensitive as they should have their pricing regime in terms of accommodation and activities.
Contacted for comment the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority of Zimbabwe (ZTA) chief operations officer Mr Givemore Chidzidzi said they had heard about the proposal and were keen to hear more about it.
“We are an authority, we can’t determine how business want to price their products. I have heard about the proposal and we are very keen to hear more about it because business is all about competitiveness. The tourism players are the ones who decide how much they want to charge according to their viability,” said Mr Chidzidzi.
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