Zimbabwe hotels see occupancy cut in half

Hoteliers in Zimbabwe have seen occupancy levels cut to less than half as tourists have been scared away by the violence sweeping the country.

Reports of farmers being burnt out of their properties, rampaging gangs and increasing tensions over the continuing rule of President Robert Mugabe have led to a collapse in the numbers of tourists visiting the former British colony.

At the 233-bedroom Crowne Plaza in the capital, Harare, general manager Anthony Petrakis said that occupancy levels had fallen by more than 60% in the past 12 to 18 months.

He said: "If anything, we fear it will get worse. A great proportion of our business was from Britain, but we have lost business from everywhere."

At the nearby 35-bedroom Selborne hotel in Bulawayo, occupancy levels are at 40-45%, compared with the normal 95-100% at this time of year. Manager Bleffed Matshaza said: "Some people have it even worse. We have heard of occupancies of between 7% and 10%."

However, other parts of the country remained unaffected. Kapija Koshen, manager of the 72-bedroom Victoria Falls Safari Lodge, said: "We have 100% occupancy. Victoria Falls is far from where all the trouble has been. We are keeping our fingers crossed."

Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 23-29 August 2001