The annual Victoria Falls Carnival – held from December 29 to 31 – helped to significantly drive up occupancy levels in the Victoria Falls region, according to the Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe.
This follows reports late last month by online daily news site, New Zimbabwe, that hotels in the area were struggling to meet maximum occupancies during the Christmas period. This is unusual for this time of the year as patronage from domestic tourists tends to increase while regional and international figures drop.
Tourism stakeholder hopes were high however, that there would be an improvement in the flow of activities and accommodation, thanks to the annual carnival, said spokesperson for Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, Godfrey Koti.
His projections proved correct, with Vice President of the Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe, Clive Chinwada, confirming to Tourism Update that the occupancy of most hotels was above 90% from December 28 to January 2. “Airbnbs and lodges also experienced good turnout in this period.”
Clive added that the carnival performed strongly because of uptake from regional travellers, mainly from South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Mozambique.
