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Sikhulekelani Moyo, Business Reporter
THE Bulawayo City Council (BCC) plans to conduct a door-to-door survey targeting hospitality facilities in the city whose outcome is expected to help grow the sector and contribute to economic development.

Tourism is one of the key economic sectors in terms of job creation and foreign currency earnings and has set a target of a US$5 billion earnings by 2025.

Covid-19

The sector is slowly recovering from the adverse effects of Covid-19, which since March 2020 had frustrated major service providers resulting in loss of jobs due to lockdown restrictions, which curtailed global and local travel.

In a statement yesterday, the local authority said the door-to-door survey would assist in creation of an adequate data base on hotels and lodges, number of employees, rooms, occupancy rates and equipment available, among others.

“The City of Bulawayo would like to advise members of the tourism and hospitality industry that the city will be carrying out a door-to-door survey on hotels and lodges from Friday 24 June 2022 to Thursday 30 June 2022 excluding weekend,” said the council.

“The information will be used to create a data base that will help players in the tourism and hospitality sector to improve their performance and contribute to local economic growth.”

Provision of standard accommodation and key tourism facilities is critical for Bulawayo, which hosts big business conferences such as the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair, the country prime business event.

Sanganai/Hlanganani International Tourism Expo

The city also hosts the Sanganai/Hlanganani International Tourism Expo, which was brought in Bulawayo to maximise the city’s potential in contributing to the growth of the country’s economy following the demise of the industrial hub. —

@SikhulekelaniM1