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Leonard Ncube Victoria Falls Reporter
THE business community in Victoria Falls yesterday said tourist fees in the resort town were “exorbitant” compared to the region, a situation they said was impacting negatively on plans to revive tourism in the country.

Participants at the meeting organised by the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) also implored CAAZ to consider revising handling fees at the airport so as to attract more airlines.

The business representatives said fees charged by tour operators and service providers such as accommodation, boat cruise and other facilities were not comparable to the region.

A participant said: “Our charges are higher compared to neighbouring countries and we’re losing business at the airport as people prefer to come via Kasane and drive to Victoria Falls by road.

“Since you say we’re here to market and repackage Victoria Falls and the airport together, tourists need reasons why they should leave Livingstone Airport or OR Tambo in favour of our airport. As operators, we move a lot of tourists across the border by road because they prefer facilities in neighbouring countries.

“There’re a lot of things that we need to consider such as hotel charges and even taxis which we think are the highest in the region. We’ve to address a lot of issues besides those relevant to CAAZ alone.”

CAAZ organised the meeting to mobilise for a “massive” marketing campaign for the new look Victoria Falls International Airport whose completion is set for September this year.

“In the next four months, we’ll be delivering a new look airport and as CAAZ we’re charged with getting business for the facility. We’re here to share marketing ideas to make sure the facility is fully utilised. We’ve committed $150 million into the project and that money has to be repaid,” said airport manager, Ronnie Masawi, as he opened the meeting.

Participants raised questions after a presentation by CAAZ marketing representative Saru Muza who called for collaboration to increase the number of people and airlines using the airport.

“Our demand depends on you, which is why there’s need for collaboration to see how we can have traffic coming through the airport. We’re here to see how we can work together and package this destination. At the moment airlines are saying the available traffic doesn’t warrant coming to Victoria Falls and we need to work on improving the number of people using the airport,” she said.

One participant responded: “It’s not fair to come here and ask us how we can do business. Instead you should be coming to us with contracts to say this is how far we’ve gone. The $150 million is a lot of money and obviously a lot of brains must have been put into the project which means by now we should be having airlines that are willing to land at the new airport.”

The new spacious airport, whose construction is being funded by the Chinese Exim Bank for $150 million, would come with vast business opportunities, according to CAAZ.

The participants wanted to know whether there was a possibility for airport rates to be reduced for a period of time to attract airlines.

Muza said CAAZ has a discount package where new airlines pay 40 percent less in handling fees for the first six months. These include landing, parking, navigation and docking fees whose rates couldn’t be readily established.

Another participant said: “Some destinations have cruises like us and the difference is that theirs is done on the sea but it’s very affordable. Why not remove some of the packages that attract more charges such as snacks on the cruise so that we try and reduce fees?”

A boat cruise costs $60 on average while other activities such as bungee jumping and elephant ride are more than $100. Even the main attraction, the Rainforest, costs between $20 and $35 depending on nationality while locals pay $7 entrance fees. Taxi charges are also high, charging $5 for a three kilometre distance and $30 to the airport, participants said.

They called for a downward revision of the charges to attract more tourists.

Some expressed concern over an “unfriendly” environment at the department of Immigration. They said this negatively impacts on tourism.

In response, an official from the Immigration department said they were facing challenges of capacity as they were equipped to handle one airline at a time. The official said service would improve once more counters are opened when the refurbished airport starts working.

Meanwhile, Masawi said the new look airport will be ready by September. Changes include a new terminal building, car park, water reticulation works, 4km runway, taxi ways, extended aircraft parking, new control tower and fire station.

CAAZ said it is engaging a number of airlines, especially those that used to operate in the country, to fly into Victoria Falls.