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Thupeyo Muleya, Beitbridge Bureau
THE Government should consider a bailout package or introduce a cocktail of concessions to assist safari and tourism operators across the country who have been hit hard by the covid-19 pandemic.

Safaris in Beitbridge which fall under the Greater Mapungubwe Transfrontier Conservation Area (GMFTCA) are among the worst hit in the county after having failed to operate at full throttle in the last 12 months.

The GMFCA is made up of national parks and safaris in Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Sentinel Safaris Director Mrs Vanessa Bristow said yesterday that most of the players in the safaris and tourism sector were finding the going tough. She said most of them were failing to raise enough funds to sustain operation hence the appeal to Government to intervene and bail out the sector.

“This is the feeling among most members of the Safari Operators Association of Zimbabwe (SOAZ). We normally rely very heavily on our tourism income to protect the property,” said Mrs Bristow.

“Last year, we were only able to have one safari, so our income dropped sharply. This has affected our ability to maintain roads and infrastructure including fencing and keeping our anti-poaching teams active,” she said.

Mrs Bristow said they incurred huge expenses in keeping the anti-poaching teams operational throughout the year but realised very little revenue .

She said it was very critical for the Government to give SOAZ members a special grant or concessions so that they meet their obligations.

“In addition, we feel the Government needs to look at the 40 /60 liquidation issue because we are bringing in the foreign currency but we are really getting hammered in terms of enforcement.

“So far, Namibia and Botswana have given special loans with no interest to the tourism sector. I think Zimbabwe needs to realise that without a little bit of help from Government, it might take long to revive the tourism industry,” said Mrs Bristow.

She said although the tourism sector was being gradually opened, most operators haven’t started marketing considering that they had brought forward bookings from last year.

She added that they were having challenges making new bookings due to the fact that they have to adhere to specified hunting quotas per year of selected animal species.

Mrs Bristow said hunting is usually between May and September and after which they have photographic tours.

“We have failed to have the photography tour due to rains and the fact that we had to adhere to strict Covid-19 management protocols,” she said. Mrs Bristow also appealed to the Government to reopen borders now that the Covid-19 vaccination programme is being rolled out.

She said this will help boost tourist arrivals. @tupeyo