Lockdown regulations for the tourism and hospitality sector have been partially relaxed by Cabinet so these two sectors, the most severely hit by Covid-19, can carefully and safely resume limited operations.
Restaurants are now allowed to serve sitting customers within their premises, but using only half their licensed capacity, while safari operations and national parks are allowed to re-open to help boost domestic tourism.
Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said after yesterday’s Cabinet meeting that “in the tourism and hospitality sector, requests for variations of operating conditions in respect of restaurant operators, and to reopen safari operators for local hunting only and national parks were granted.”
Restaurants are already allowed to stay open for their full licensed hours, but have been limited to take-aways until yesterday’s extra, but partial, relaxation.
The global travel and tourism sector was the first area of economic activity to be hit by the Covid-19 crisis, with traveller figures dropping significantly as countries across the globe, Zimbabwe among them, imposed lockdowns.
Government has already availed a $500 million bank guarantee facility to help the tourism and hospitality sector survive the slump and prepare for recovery. The facility is meant to assist the tourism sector access working capital loans from banks and insulate their businesses from the effects of the pandemic.
With the need to maintain strict controls on foreign travellers entering Zimbabwe, including the mandatory quarantine, the sector and Government are looking at domestic tourism to start the recovery, that is Zimbabweans returning to restaurants and visiting tourist attractions.
Source: Lockdown: Tourism gets partial relaxation (01/07/20)
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