Tourist Resorts to Get Fuel for Festive Period
Source: The Herald (Harare)
Date: 4 November 2005
Author: Tsitsi Matope
The Parks and Wildlife Management Authority has set aside 80 000 litres of fuel for distribution in all major tourist resorts during the festive season.
In an interview yesterday, Parks public relations manager Retired Major Edward Mbewe said the decision was reached after realising that the authority was losing business owing to fuel shortages.
"We lost a few international tourists and a significant number of regional tourists who, after inquiring about the fuel situation in Zimbabwe and lack of facilities on our part to ensure the fuel aspect is dealt with, they cancelled their bookings," Rtd Maj Mbewe said.
He said the authority could not afford to continue losing tourists in prime areas such as Matobo Hills, Hwange National Park, Mana Pools and Nyanga owing to erratic fuel supplies.
"We have fuel tanks in all our major parks areas and we are going to distribute a significant quantity in each so that those booked with us to spend their Christmas holidays will not have any hassles over shortages of fuel," Rtd Maj Mbewe said.
He said plans were in the pipeline to ensure the facility is sustained until fuel supplies returned to normal.
Rtd Maj Mbewe said international tourists usually started arriving for the Christmas holidays by the end of November.
"Therefore, we are planning that by mid-November we will have already filled all our fuel tanks. Depending on the number of visitors, we might find ourselves replenishing the 80 000 litres, comprising diesel and petrol."
Foreign visitors would pay for the fuel in foreign currency.
"We are ordering our own fuel and sometimes we use foreign currency to make purchases. We hope if we sell ours in foreign currency to the international and regional tourists, it will boost our foreign currency reserves and enable us to purchase more fuel for both our own operations and for the tourists," he said.
Echoing Rtd Major Mbewe's sentiments, Secretary for Environment and Tourism Mrs Margaret Sangarwe said the tourism sector should find new strategies to get around the challenges facing the country, particularly those that impacted negatively on the tourism sector.
"We have lots of places that people would love to see and we have our very own traditional tourists who would not want to miss their holidays in Zimbabwe under any circumstances.
"It is, therefore, imperative that we find new marketing skills, ways, solutions around our challenges and ensure that the sector is not disturbed by fuel shortages or any other challenge," she said.
Campfire director Mr Charles Jonga was, however, pleased sport hunting had not been affected by Western-inspired sanctions or fuel shortages.
"The fuel shortages have not significantly impacted on hunting activities in all Campfire areas but we are also considering making available a fuel facility that would make their operations a lot easier," Mr Jonga said.
He said some safari operators in Campfire areas had made arrangements to order fuel for their clients who wanted to hop from place to place during their hunting expeditions.
"We would like to appeal to the National Oil Company of Zimbabwe to make special considerations to supply sufficient fuel to those in the tourism industry so that this coming holidays our clients will be mobile, content and have a peaceful and enjoyable stay," he said.