COMMENT - Now if only the government taxed the mines... Because the tourist industry isn't going to build the infrastructure it needs. Not that Zambia should be pusuing another service industry like tourism, without developing it's primary industries first.
TCZ calls for Infrastructure development
Written by Kabanda Chulu
Saturday, May 30, 2009 3:28:37 PM
TOURISM Council of Zambia (TCZ) has challenged the government to
seriously consider infrastructure development as an ongoing development strategy with an annual implementation budget for a sustained period of time.
And TCZ executive director Josephine Mehl has said the 2009 budget lacked incentives for the existing enterprises in the tourism sector to be able to compete favourably in the midst of the global economic crisis.
Making submissions to the Parliamentary committee on Economic and Labour Affairs on the impact of the global crisis on the tourism sector in Lusaka on Wednesday, Mehl said infrastructure development was a long-term measure that would not be accomplished within a year to bring about growth and investment.
“The Budget is essentially addressing the issues of infrastructure development to attract investment particularly for the tourism sector and what remains to be seen is how the implementation will be done within the budget time frame especially that government has come up with an infrastructural development programme in tourist centres in the Northern circuit,” Mehl said. “Construction of roads, airports and bridges as a requisite to attract investment is a long term measure that should have been an ongoing development strategy with an annual implementation budget for a sustained period of time and even beyond. We welcome increased investment in the tourism sector but small investments that do not tie up within an overall planned strategy will be wasted.”
Mehl said the private sector would have liked the national budget to address fiscal and non-fiscal measures that would stimulate growth in the tourism business in responding to the global economic crisis.
Government has this year allocated K99 billion towards the rehabilitation of the Zimba-Livingstone road to improve access to the tourist capital, K24 billion to rehabilitate the Mbala to Kasaba Bay road and K11 billion for the construction of a terminal at Mbala Air Force Base and rehabilitation of the Kasaba Bay airstrip.
Labels: INFRASTRUCTURE, JOSEPHINE MEHL, TCZ
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TCZ calls for Infrastructure development
Written by Kabanda Chulu
Friday, May 29, 2009 4:36:18 PM
TOURISM Council of Zambia (TCZ) has challenged the government to seriously consider infrastructure development as an ongoing development strategy with an annual implementation budget for a sustained period of time.
And TCZ executive director Josephine Mehl has said the 2009 budget lacked incentives for the existing enterprises in the tourism sector to be able to compete favourably in the midst of the global economic crisis.
Making submissions to the Parliamentary committee on Economic and Labour Affairs on the impact of the global crisis on the tourism sector in Lusaka on Wednesday, Mehl said infrastructure development was a long-term measure that would not be accomplished within a year to bring about growth and investment.
“The Budget is essentially addressing the issues of infrastructure development to attract investment particularly for the tourism sector and what remains to be seen is how the implementation will be done within the budget time frame especially that government has come up with an infrastructural development programme in tourist centres in the Northern circuit,” Mehl said.
“Construction of roads, airports and bridges as a requisite to attract investment is a long term measure that should have been an ongoing development strategy with an annual implementation budget for a sustained period of time and even beyond. We welcome increased investment in the tourism sector but small investments that do not tie up within an overall planned strategy will be wasted.”
Mehl said the private sector would have liked the national budget to address fiscal and non-fiscal measures that would stimulate growth in the tourism business in responding to the global economic crisis.
Government has this year allocated K99 billion towards the rehabilitation of the Zimba-Livingstone road to improve access to the tourist capital, K24 billion to rehabilitate the Mbala to Kasaba Bay road and K11 billion for the construction of a terminal at Mbala Air Force Base and rehabilitation of the Kasaba Bay airstrip.
Labels: INFRASTRUCTURE, JOSEPHINE MEHL, TCZ
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Sikazwe calls for huge investment in tourism
By Kabanda Chulu
Thursday September 27, 2007 [04:00]
TOURISM Council of Zambia (TCZ) chairman Jacob Sikazwe has said lack of proper infrastructure is the biggest challenge facing the tourism sector in the country. And the Zambia National Tourist Board (ZNTB) recorded a 13.2 per cent increase in the number of visitor arrivals in 2006 having registered 756,860 visitor arrivals as compared to 668,862 tourists in 2005.
Commenting on the World Day of Tourism that falls today, Sikazwe said there was need to channel huge investments if the tourism industry was to realise its potential as the second priority sector after agriculture. He explained that capacity building programmes must also be put in place since the country lacked experienced and qualified manpower.
“We are happy to see the government prioritising the tourism sector after agriculture and putting in various reforms to ensure the industry is driven by the private sector but the biggest challenge facing the sector is lack of proper infrastructure especially that most tourism operations are rural based.
Our roads are incapable of enhancing the industry and this calls for massive investments,” said Sikazwe. “And our bed capacity is very little and it cannot be compared to what the city of Harare has to offer and also we lack qualified manpower and if issues of capacity building are not resolved then the huge investments will not matter because provision of sub standards will continue.”
And according to statistics from the ZNTB, Zambia recorded an increase of 13.6 per cent in the number of international tourist arrivals. In 2005, Zambia recorded 668,862 visitor arrivals as compared to 756,860 in 2006. During the same period under review, the ZNTB also recorded K9.814 billion in 2006 as compared to K6.242 billion in 2005 while operating costs amounted to K5.512 billion as compared to K4.139 billion during the same period.
It was also stated that Europe contributed 19 per cent of the total arrivals and registered a five per cent growth from the 2005 figure. Out of Europe, the United Kingdom continues to lead as the biggest tourist source market for Zambia followed by Germany while South Africa continues to dominate the African region as the biggest short-haul market.
And data received from the national parks indicate that a total of 42,907 international tourists visited the national parks thus registering a 19 per cent increase over the 2005 figure of 36,097.
The South Luangwa National Park was the most visited park accounting for 52 per cent of the total visits to the national parks followed by Musi-o-tunya and Lower Zambezi National Parks.
Data collected at the Victoria Falls indicate that 114,571 tourists visited the Falls in 2006 and their average duration of stay in 2006 was six days.
However, the government’s objective of increasing tourist arrivals by additional 400,000 by the year 2010 through the 2005 Visit Zambia Campaign seems to be an elusive goal following the reduction of funding to the project.
According to the 2007 budget estimates and expenditure, under the Tourism Development Unit of the Ministry of Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources (MTENR), government has allocated a paltry K4,994,800 as funding for the Visit Zambia Campaigns that would focus on promoting the North Western Province.
Nevertheless, the government has allocated K1 billion for the Northern Circuit (Northern and Luapula provinces), which was the emphasis for last year’s Visit Zambia Campaign. The government has also allocated huge funding to units that fall directly under the MTENR such as K500 billion for tourism promotion and marketing and K216 billion for facilitation of foreign travel and K50 million for the review of the tourism policy.
Labels: JACOB SIKAZWE, TCZ, TOURISM
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