Boom for Kariba Hotel, Tourism Operators During Festive Season
THE just-ended Christmas holiday saw a rebound of the hotel and tourism industry in Kariba that had experienced a battering due to successive Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns.
According to industry sources, occupancy levels at registered hotels and lodges were at 100%.
This resulted in desperate accommodation seekers resorting to paying for rooms in residential areas.
Kariba Tourism and Business Indaba administrator, Cephas Shonhiwa told NewZimbabwe.com operators in the hospitality and tourism sector recorded brisk business over the Christmas holiday as hotels and lodges were fully booked, while many ordinary Kariba residents cashed in on the accommodation crisis by offering their houses to visitors.
Shonhiwa said: "Following two consecutive years of lockdowns due to Covid, the Christmas holiday brought renewed business to hotels and lodges which were fully booked. "We expect the trend to continue into the New Year holidays. Some accommodation seekers were forced to look for rooms within residential areas."
A survey revealed all houseboats in the resort town were hired by merry-makers on various expeditions on the expansive and iconic Lake Kariba. The lakeside was awash with fun lovers who were swimming, fishing, braaing and imbibing, heightening fears a fourth wave of Covid-19 could break-out in the town
