eBusiness Weekly
Business Writer
Some Five Star hotels and lodges countrywide are set to tumble to Three Stars, while others will become ungraded as the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) embarks on a blitz to reposition players in the sector to their rightful places.
This will lead to some hotels being shut down, after it emerged the majority of them are charging tourists rates that are not in sync with their status.
The blitz, code named “Operation Restore Order”, runs from this month to March as part of the country’s efforts to reposition the sector as the major foreign currency earner.
Preliminary reports indicate that three hotels and lodges are likely to make it to Five Star status, while the rest will tumble.
This comes as it emerged the tourism sector needs over $200 million to spruce up the existing tourism infrastructure and $1,5 billion to construct new hotels to cater for a potential boom in the sector following the new economic order.
The ZTA’s position is part of a host of measures aimed at rebuild the country’s image that was dented by a plethora of factors in the last two decades including economic and political unpredictability.
ZTA chief executive Karikoga Kaseke this week said few hotels will pass the litmus test as Five Star facilities, adding the majority are shortchanging tourists.
“We are starting a blitz this month under “Operation Restore Order” in hotels. We need an orderly tourism sector. If you get say Three Stars, it should be real.
“The operation will run from January to March. We have engaged some of these hotels for too long but they have failed to comply with the directive. They are robbing customers (and) we do not want to risk the image of the country,” said Kaseke.
He said charging Five Star rates for a hotel whose real status is Three Star borders on corruption which requires the intervention of the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc).
However, Kaseke said there are some private lodges deserving Five Star status, and would be considered.
“Some hotels claim to be Four or Five Stars yet they are not. We are going to properly rate them and give them the stars they deserve.
“During the operation, those not registered will be closed without hesitation. Those not providing proper service will get right stars.
“The tourists compare us with other products when they visit other countries and this affects our image promotion and building strategies, which is not proper.
“We have noted some rooms might be Five Stars, but everything in it will be Three Stars. We must be arrested by Zacc. People have been complaining about our facilities,” said Kaseke.
Some players in the tourism sector claim they have been unable to maintain quality services befitting their Five Star status due to economic challenges in recent years.
This was worsened by the decline in tourism arrivals due to negative publicity the country received since the turn of the millennium.
Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe (HAZ) president Innocent Munyera welcomed the blitz on hoteliers but implored the ZTA to execute the task in a manner that does not affect the tourism sector locally and abroad.
Munyera said the re-grading of hotels was first raised in December last year by Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Prisca Mupfumira.
Minister Mupfumira urged the sector to address soft issues that did not demand foreign currency to be address.
Munyera said Minister Mupfumira raised issues such as human resources training and correct culture of work, among others, that could be addressed without need for foreign currency.
“We agree that there is a need for a revisit of the grading system of the hotels. But it depends with how the ZTA is going to handle the matter so that it does not affect the tourism sector.
“The ZTA as the arm of the ministry, has been lenient due to the liquidity challenges for us to renovate.
“However, the industry was taking that for granted.
“They have been saying we are not fairly priced compared to what is being offered in the region. Because of these discrepancies, we need to revisit the strategy,” he said.
Munyera said while there was need to address the issue urgently, dialogue should be given a chance.
At the same time, hoteliers should be given a grace period.
“There is need for dialogue and we hope the $15 million promised by the RBZ will help address these challenges and after that those who fail to comply should be punished.
“The issue needs to be handled well. After re-grading, the issue needs to be revisited say in six months. There should be continuous assessment looking at rooms, televisions, beds and linen among other issues. Otherwise it’s a good move, we should be put to task,” he said.
There has been lethargic infrastructure development in the country, but following the new economic order, there is potential for massive development of the tourism sector.
However, Kaseke said the new dispensation brought a lot of hope to the tourism industry among Zimbabweans and the foreign market.
“They have received this new era with renewed energy, vigour, excitement and we believe it is going to do well for our tourism sector. The excitement is especially the news coming from the international market, our traditional markets.
“By traditional markets we mean the European markets which we were very strong in the past before 2000. These are Germany, United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxemburg,” he said.
