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Patrick Chitumba Victoria Falls Reporter
VICTORIA Falls was a hive of activity yesterday as tourists, mainly locals and some South Africans, trooped into the resort town for Christmas holiday.Hotels and lodges were almost fully booked with Zimbabwe Council of Tourism vice-president, Tich Hwingwiri, saying as of yesterday, room occupancies were had surpassed 80 percent.
“Locals mostly are dominating this Christmas period. Occupancies are around 80 to 85 percent,” he said.
Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe chairperson for the Victoria Falls Chapter, Jonathan Hudson, said most hotels and lodges were experiencing brisk business.
He said hotels were already fully booked for the New Year because of the Victoria Falls Carnival, which attracts thousands of locals and foreigners into the country’s premier tourist destination.
The carnival concert would be held from Sunday and end on Tuesday next week.
“We are actually doing fine and our clientele has not been affected by the liquidity crunch as being reported in some circles. We have a different clientele all together,” said Hudson.
Travel and tourism executive, Clement Mukwasi said the festive season was promising to be busy adding that they were anticipating 100 percent bookings for activities such as helicopter rides, boat cruise, bungee jumping and game viewing, among others.
Mukwasi said special packages were on offer for locals to entice them to do more activities.
“The resort town is now a hive of activity with the major attraction so far being the mighty Victoria Falls Rainforest. The restaurant at the rainforest is also very busy and we are optimistic of a great festive season. Mostly South Africans and locals are visiting Victoria Falls,” he said.
The increase in tourist arrivals during this period is also being attributed to the successful co-hosting of the 20th session of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) general assembly, which was held in Victoria Falls and Livingstone in August. It sent positive signals, particularly to foreign travellers that Zimbabwe and Victoria Falls are safe and worth visiting.
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