adminKudzanai Gerede
AS the tourism sector fast becomes the cornerstone of Zimbabwe’s economy, statistics point to the fact that despite recording commendable growth in recent years, the sector is still far from being harnessed to its full potential.
The country’s tourism sector continues to lag behind against average regional growth figures as the race towards the realisation of Vision 2020 targets proves to be running out of time.
This comes on the backdrop of a decline in tourist spending as the global economy is currently facing a myriad of challenges compounded by the scourge of terrorism which was a major highlight throughout the course of 2015 and transcended to a marginal growth in the hospitality industry.
Economic factors such as income growth and exchange rates are key enablers of airport passenger demand in the short to medium term, and the global economic environment has not been favorable.
The structural changes in the world’s second biggest economy, China, whose consumerism of commodities and under-performance of their economy left a huge bearing on its growing middle class, cutting tourist spending which had reached US$ 128,8 billion in 2013, commanding 11 percent of global tourist market share.
Other top traditional tourism spenders such as German, Britain, France and Italy were not spared of the harsh economic reality as they faced similar challenges both domestically and across the EUROZONE as the migrant crisis took center stage exhausting EU attention at the expense of focusing on economic development strategies.
As such, 2016 starts on a bad patch superseding a tough economic year and this has prompted top economists like International Monetary Fund (IMF) Chief Christine Lagarde issuing a stern warning that the current year will see a disappointing global economic growth rate and the outlook for the medium term has deteriorated largely due to rising interest rates in the US and economic slowdown in China which will have spillover effects on the rest of the world.
With such gloomy trends unfolding externally where Zimbabwe’s potential visitors are expected to originate from, as we aim to attract at least 5 million arrivals annually, the 2020 dream hangs by a loose thread.
At the launch of the country’ s first ever, National Tourism Policy document in 2014, Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Engineer Walter Mzembi set the tone that by year 2020, the country’s tourism sector should be a US$ 5 billion economy, attracting at least 5 million arrivals annually and contributing 15 percent to Gross Domestic Product.
This optimism was buoyed by a sterling growth in the sector since 2009 when the country had come out of political and economic doldrums that had crippled the economy and left the destination’s brand heavily tarnished. On the international stage, the economic environment was showing signs of stability having recovered from the global recession.
With a tough economic year beckoning, the ZTA and its parent ministry will have to come up with pragmatic means to steer their ship against external tides.
Mathematically, creating a US$5 billion tourism economy by 2020 is not as ambitious as it sounds, given that the country is endowed with tourist pullers such as its pedigree for peacefulness, wide range of natural picturesque scenes, good weather and a dedicated Tourism and Hospitality Industry Ministry but worryingly, the determinant factor becomes the general low performance of the national economy to capacitate the tourism vision.
Budgetary allocation into the sector for marketing activities on the international arena remains an albatross to the fulfillment of the tourism sector potential.
Treasury allocations to the tourism sector are in sharp contrast with that of our regional counterparts.
For instance, South Africa’s tourism mother body got an allocation of US$ 110 million in 2012 for promoting the country’s destination to the world, while regional agencies had an average of US$10 million compared to US$2,5 million and US$2.2 million in 2013 and 2014 respectively allocated to ZTA through Treasury.
“Our operations have been hamstrung because we are operating on a very tight budget and we have had to be innovative,” ZTA chief executive officer, Mr Karikoga Kaseke stressed last year.
Currently international arrivals are at around 1,5 million, translating to just over US$ 1 billion in revenue receipts.
The challenge facing the sector is on the implementation of various initiatives enshrined in the National Tourism Policy such as the opening of the country’ skies to international airlines, the open visa regime, setting up of special economic zones, infrastructural development, marketing the destination to global niche markets and propping up domestic tourism among other strategies.
Analysts are skeptical of the country’s tourism sector expanding these tourism receipts five-fold in the next four years given the gloomy global economic outlook, but Eng Mzembi remains upbeat.
Speaking with Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe newly appointed members recently, Eng Mzembi called on hospitality players to remains focused on the vision if it is to materialize.
“We are optimistic and the source of the optimism is the growth we have registered since 2009. In February 2009, the sector needs to perform below the US$1 billion mark but we have seen growth.
“This is the source of positive spirit. We expect the sector to grow by US$ 500 million every year,” he said.
The finalisation of the open visa regime process is expected to encourage arrivals into the country following the introduction of the KAZA Uni-visa between Zimbabwe and Zambia.
With the Victoria Falls International Airport upgrading expected to be completed this year and opened, the country will harness massive benefits as it is expected to attract international airliners into the resort town.
The country’s rebranding exercise is starting to bear fruit for the country’s tourism sector.
Last year destination Zimbabwe was endorsed as one of the world’s 52 must visit places by the New York Times Travel alongside South Africa’s Durban, Tanzania and Morocco’s Rabat.
This international recognition came at a time when the country was working tirelessly on dispelling negative conceptions that had derailed growth tourist inflows since the turn of the millennium.
What remains to be seen is how idealism will fare against realism in the race towards a US$5 billion dollar tourism economy.
Online Reporter