Pelandaba-Tshabalala legislator Joseph Tshuma, who serves on the Speaker’s Panel in the National Assembly, has expressed shock at the exorbitant prices of breakfast in Zimbabwean hotels and urged Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Barbara Rwodzi to speak to the tourism sector over the issue.
The tourism sector in Zimbabwe has come under fire on several occassions for inflated user fees that have chased locals, as well as some foreign tourists away.
So exorbitant are the prices that some tourists prefer to sleep in neighbouring countries and then fly into Zimbabwe to enjoy the attractions and go back, thereby depriving the country of revenue in tourism receipts.
Speaking in the National Assembly, Honourable Tshuma said Minister Rwodzi needs to talk to the tourism players over the pricing structures.
‘’While we are at that, Honourable Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry, as you were speaking about promoting tourism in the rural areas and in towns, please, can you get your players to sort of support you as well?
‘’I was so surprised to find a hotel selling breakfast for USD35. I said to myself, right now, if you go into town, you buy nine eggs for a dollar, a whole chicken is USD7. So, what is the justification for breakfast being USD35?
‘’If you look at Victoria Falls, tourists sleep in Livingstone, Zambia, and spend the day in Victoria Falls because of our pricing structures. So please, can you talk to your players in that industry to support your vision, to support your push and your drive because they are letting you down,’’ he said.
Tourism is among the key pillars of economic revival for the second republic together with agriculture and mining.
According to economic experts, tourism has a lot of low hanging fruits that can easily earn the country foreign currency if the various bottlenecks are solved.
The government has done a lot in terms of reducing taxes for importation of capital equipment and also some levies, as part of ease of doing business project.
However, despite all the moves by the government, the tourism sector in Zimbabwe has not responded positively in terms of pricing their products and services.
