via Tourism underfunded, says ZTA | The Herald April 3, 2014 by Golden Sibanda
The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority has blamed the poor marketing of the country as a prime tourist destination on acute shortage of funds saying only $50 000 has been received from Treasury so far this year. ZTA chief executive Mr Karikoga Kaseke said in an interview that the authority was this year allocated a mere $2,2 million by Treasury against $35 million request it had made for its activities.
As such, Mr Kaseke said that the country has struggled to market itself to attract even half the tourist arrivals it received at the peak of the sector’s performance in the late 1990s.
He said the tourism authority, apart from marketing the country, also required huge financial resources to monitor and regulate players in the tourism and hospitality industry.
The allocated amount contrasts sharply with what regional countries spend on promoting tourism annually.
“ZTA does not compete with anyone in the country, we compete with South Africa, we compete with Malawi, Botswana and we (also) compete with Mozambique,” he said.
For instance, Mr Kaseke said South Africa’s tourism mother body was given $110 million in 2012 while regional agencies were each allocated $10 million for their activities.
Zimbabwe was allocated $2,5 million for 2013, but ended up getting only $1,4 million while only $50 000 has been received out of the $2,2 million earmarked for tourism in 2014.
“We had requested $35 million for 2014, far less than the total given to South Africa, Botswana, Namibia or Zambia. We want to go back we were in 1999,” Mr Kaseke said.
According to the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry, the tourism sector is on course to contributing 15 percent, from 6,5 percent, to the country’s gross domestic product this year.
Treasury has struggled to mobilise resources to support all deserving sectors of the economy with only $4,1 billion revenue projected this year. However, almost 73 percent of the funds will go to recurrent expenditure, especially civil servants salaries.
Tourism is one of the country’s four main economic pillars and is considered to, generally, have low hanging fruits for the successful turnaround of the domestic economy
COMMENTS
He would do more by going out on a genuine marketing drive, than to sit and cry crocodile tears. How much does this tourism chap scam/earn every month anyway?
What Tourism needs is to get rid of the parasites at ZTA – starting from the top. Five years with no ZTA and you will see a marked improvement in Tourism. The players that ZTA feel are so badly in “need of monitoring and regulation” can get on with the job of resurrecting the Industry without paying salaries for a bunch of suits who think wining and dining, beauty pageants and shiny motor cars will help put Zimbabwe on the map. Tourism does not need the current blood sucking ZTA in any shape or form.
How can they be underfunded when they just made an Order for vehicles worth $50 mill in India? Stop lying you thieves!
Everything is underfunded except the wallets of the ;high and mighty.” That is where the funding has been mislaid to
Ground Zero – you took the words right out of my mouth.
in the hospitality industry we have to pay annual membership for license to ZTA to operate, this is supposed to be done by 1st February each year, this year we cannot even get an invoice from them to pay, then they will try to fine us for late payment.
probably out of office choosing their new car colour.
Imagine every Hotel, Bar, restaurant, Lodge, etc has to pay this License, must be millions of dollars that they are losing, then when they try to take us to court they will have a to spen so much for a lawyer and they will loose the case as we all have letters and email requesting invoice so we can pay.