Zambia is an expensive tourist destination , says Chief Mukuni

Zambia is an expensive tourist destination , says Chief Mukuni
By Ndinawe Simpelwe
Tue 12 July 2011, 18:50 CAT

CHIEF Mukuni of the Toka Leya people of Kazungula and Livingstone says Zambia is an expensive tourist destination.

In an interview, chief Mukuni said Zambia was offering expensive services to tourists than most of the countries in the region. He said there was need for tour operators in the country to improve on service delivery in order to match their high fees and attract more tourists.

“It is true that the cost of doing business in Zambia is higher than other countries in the region. This has resulted in some operators charging high rates to visitors.

Tourists prefer going to visit neighboring countries like Botswana or Zimbabwe because it is affordable there. Zambia is an expensive destination for tourists because the rates are very high,” he said.

Chief Mukuni noted that most tour operators were paying local workers good salaries but offered tourists poor services.

“What the operators are paying the Zambians is very good but that is not enough as they have to improve on the services,” he said.

He also advised operators to take advantage of the season when the country experienced high numbers of visits to market the country.

Some operators in the country have said the high cost of doing business in Zambia was behind the costly services being offered in the sector.

But chief Mukuni said tourism had low and high seasons, adding that operators should not expect to make a lot of money throughout the year.

“During low season, operators complain of the high cost of doing business in the country because there are very few tourists but during the high season when a lot of tourists visit the country the operators make a lot of money and they don’t complain about the high cost of doing business,” he said.

Chief Mukuni further said there was need to promote domestic tourism so that local people appreciate the importance of the sector.

“It’s a pity that our local people don’t know how most of the attractions look like but someone from Britain knows. Now that we have changed the theme to ‘Zambia, let’s explore’, there is need to allow local people to explore their own country,” said chief Mukuni.