BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI
Africa Albida Tourism (AAT) group in October recorded its highest occupancies since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020 in a sign that Zimbabwe’s tourism sector is on a recovery trajectory.
Occupancy across AAT’s facilities namely Victoria Falls Safari Lodge, Victoria Falls Safari Club and Victoria Falls Safari Suites with 98 rooms reached 33 percent in October.
The figure compared to average monthly occupancies across AAT’s three properties being 16 percent so far in 2021, while bookings for December are at 45 percent, which will exceed the October average.
AAT chief executive Ross Kennedy said while November has historically been a softer month, December and the festive season were showing good signs of being the busiest since the start of the pandemic with new enquiries and bookings still coming in daily.
“The forward booking pattern seems positive at this time and from the second quarter of 2022 onwards there appears to be real momentum building,” Kennedy said.
“There are, however, many factors at play across all source markets and the world, so we take nothing for granted in an ever-changing extremely competitive environment.
“We are seeing a trend of many more late bookings, with guests from local, regional and international markets, booking, paying and staying within one to three weeks.”
Guests have also been staying longer in the last six months and that trend is also reflecting in bookings, with some international visitors staying or booking for five to seven nights, Kennedy added.
The increase in occupancies came as 96 percent of Victoria Falls Safari Lodge estate staff had been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, as well as 86 percent of Victoria Falls’ adult population.
In addition, access to Victoria Falls has been boosted with airlines flocking back to the destination.
Airlines now flying into Victoria Falls are Fastjet, Ethiopian Airlines, Kenya Airways, British Airways (operated by Comair), Airlink, Air Zimbabwe and Mack Air, as well as charter airlines.
The Lufthansa Group’s new leisure airline Eurowings Discover will start flying into Victoria Falls from Windhoek three times a week on March 30 next year, increasing Frankfurt to Windhoek flights to a daily service, with a Windhoek-Victoria Falls-Windhoek tag flight three times a week.
Other international airlines to resume flights to Africa include Qantas with Johannesburg-Sydney flights three times a week from January 5, while Delta Airlines has also recommenced flights into Johannesburg from the US, and British Airways into Cape Town from London.
AAT operates a portfolio of properties in Victoria Falls, namely Victoria Falls Safari Lodge, Victoria Falls Safari Club, Victoria Falls Safari Suites, Lokuthula Lodges and The Boma –Dinner & Drum Show.