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The Waterfall in Victoria Falls. Image by We Are Victoria Falls
BY BOKANI MUDIMBA | @The_CBNews | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | DEC 10, 2020
Confidence in the Victoria Falls as a safe journey plummeted this year, a development attributed to COVID-19. Now, a new report suggests that international travellers are ready to resume tourism— with a few conditions in place.
VICTORIA FALLS (The Citizen Bulletin) – International travelers believe it is now 41 percent safe to visit Victoria Falls in the next six months following the COVID-19 pandemic that hit the whole world forcing a closure of tourism due to health concerns.
Trade confidence in booking Victoria Falls plummeted to 28 percent in 2020 from 58 percent in 2019 largely due to the effects of COVID-19.
“About 41 percent of respondents believe it is now safe to travel to Victoria Falls with European agents reporting most confidence from their client base.”
Future Traveller Sentiment report
51% of the respondents are not sure whether it is now safe to travel to Victoria Falls owing to COVID-19. Graphic by Future Traveller Sentiment Report
At least 85 percent of respondents have dealt with Zimbabwe tourism operators before while 15 percent have not booked in Zimbabwe before but are considering visiting in the future,” the Future Traveller Sentiment report conducted between October 15 and November 15, 2020 says.
The report is based on a survey conducted by the “We are Victoria Falls” on behalf of the Ministry of Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry and Zimbabwe Tourism Authority.
“We are Victoria Falls” is a collaborative independent, public-private partnership initiative representing tourism in Victoria Falls with the aim of seeking data for planning purposes with regards to the future of tourism in Zimbabwe where confidence had declined because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It shows needs of future travellers, their demographics and profiles, demands for future product, access and enabling factors in Victoria Falls.
This comes amid concerns about Victoria Falls not working on improving on its product to cater for the new and future market needs.
The government which is on the offensive through ZTA to market the country’s destination through ZimBho and Vakatsha tag names, came up with the “We are Victoria Falls” initiative with the aim of providing updates on management of COVID-19 at the destination and progress being made in dealing with the pandemic and welcoming visitors back.
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A total of 124 trade participants from Zimbabwe’s main source markets took part in the survey.
These are 28 percent from trade partners in North America, 17 percent in the UK and Europe, 13 percent from Australasia, 40 percent headquartered in Southern Africa with South Africa and Zimbabwe leading.
International agents are largely responsible for marketing local tour operators and hoteliers and refer clients.
According to the report, 80 percent of respondents stated that clients will prefer to stay at nature-based safari lodges in the next five years while over 90 percent prefer accommodation facilities located in the wilderness with those properties in both rural areas and urban ranking lower.
Smaller groups will dominate traveling patterns in the future, with 80 percent of respondents believing that groups of 2 to 6 people will be their most important market.
Large groups, incentives, events and overlanders are likely to be less common choices among travellers in the next five years. Graphic by Future Traveller Sentiment Report
About 70 percent believe that visitors will prefer private vehicle transport as opposed to group tours or self-drives and public transport for in-destination transport while over 85 percent of agents say flexible terms and conditions will be key to encourage clients to revisit.
“Confidence in the destination has dropped significantly in 2020 and this is assumed to be due to COVID-19. About 62 percent of respondents feel that the “We are Victoria Falls” initiative has increased their confidence in booking Victoria Falls as a destination.”
Future Traveller Sentiment report
The confidence shown by international clients could bring relief to the industry as it might start receiving clients in the next six months, on the backdrop of an all record low where industry closed in March because of the pandemic which led to international travel ban.
Travelers also would want peace of mind and assurance with regards to alignment to COVID-19, World Health Organisation international protocols, an improvement in standards and capacity of health facilities in Victoria Falls where currently there is no world standard medical facility, clarity with regards to testing and screening.
They also want ease of access, transparent communication, liability insurance cover, affordable pricing models and more private sector offerings.
Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe chair for Victoria Falls Anald Musonza says it is up to the industry to tap into the renewed confidence.
“Efforts should be made to encourage domestic tourism to complement international travel,” Musonza says.
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