HAZ president re-elected

PEDIA Moyo was unanimously elected for a second term of office as president of HAZ (Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe) at the association's annual congress held in Mutare in May. Moyo has been in the hospitality industry for 20 years and an executive member of HAZ for over ten years. Her base is the Marondera Hotel and she also has business interests in Harare. Heath Dhana, who is gm of Cresta Lodge in Harare, was re-elected HAZ vice-president. In her opening address to delegates to congress, Moyo said that Zimbabwe must take advantage of the opportunity of this century being dubbed 'the African century', "to establish a culture in which fair play is espoused and corruption punished, a culture in which performance matters and office holders, be it in the private or public sector are accountable for their deeds. The potential to achieve this is not all lost." On the perennial tricky issue of dual-tariff systems she said that India, torn between the need to tap the diminishing international market while maintaining the domestic corporate segment, has 70 of its 177 four- and five-star hotels practising a dual-tariff pricing structure, charging US$ rates to international visitors and up to 40 percent lower rates in rupees to Indians as a necessary means of survival - a situation identical to that in Zimbabwe. "We believe that a single tariff would alienate much-needed domestic tourism, and it has been discovered that other countries, even in our region, practise two-tier pricing in a subtle way. They call it a discounted rate or specials. Perhaps Zimbabwe's problem is how we market our prices," said Moyo. (Mary Ann Parker)