Hospitality industry booming

CHENGETAI MURIMWA

Players in the hospitality industry in Manicaland Province are witnessing a stronger rebound following the relaxation of Covid-19 lockdown measures.

Between 2020 and 2021, the government imposed restrictions to curb the spread of Covid-19 forcing the players in the hospitality industry to shut down operations.

The measures were, however, lifted towards the end of last year.

The acting general manager for the Golden Peacock Hotel in the city of Mutare Ray Mango told Business Times that the hospitality industry has recovered from the adverse effects of the Covid-19.

He said locals were driving the current trend.

“There has been an uptake of business ever since the restrictions were relaxed. People are able to conference as more and bigger groups are coming,” Mango said.

He said government and local organisations were supporting the industry.

“We are still very low on having international clients but our drive currently is centred on pushing more of the local visitors,” Mango said.

He said the drive to have more local tourists is being supported by the government through the exemption of Value Added Tax on all local tourists.

“This has really helped in our pricing. More than 50% of our business is coming from local tourists.”

Mango said Golden Peacock hotel would be introducing promotions that are linked to China, since it is a Chinese-themed hotel.

“We are stepping forward so that our clientele has a better understanding of what China is all about. There are a lot of misconceptions about the Chinese so we will not just be serving a Chinese menu but we will make people leave with a better understanding of their culture,” Mango said.

The Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe representative for Manicaland Province, Nyasha Makanza said they had seen an increase in the number of domestic tourists visiting the Eastern Highlands since the relaxation of Covid-19 regulations.

“A lot of local tourists come in through conferencing and they take advantage of their workshops to visit tourist sites such as Mutarazi and Nyangombe Falls, World’s View, Nyangani and Vumba Mountains in the Eastern Highlands,” Makanza said.