Tendai Kamhungira 
THE reduction of licences, permits, levies and fees in the tourism industry has improved the ease of doing business in the sector, local airline Fastjet Zimbabwe says.
The reforms are credited for easing operational costs for businesses and improving compliance by simplifying regulatory processes.
The airline’s spokesperson, Nunurai Ndawana, commended the government’s move to review the fees, saying it would make the country a more competitive tourist destination.
“This enables and ensures that there is ease of doing business for all tourism operators, ensuring that Zimbabwe remains a top tourism destination as we saw last year with the Forbes magazine listing Zimbabwe as a must-visit destination in the world,” Ndawana said.
The government slashed fees across different sectors of the economy, including tourism, agriculture, transport, retail, manufacturing and energy.
Other targeted sectors include health, broadcasting, telecommunications, liquor, construction and financial services.
Under the new regime, professional tour guide registration has been reduced from US$50 annually to a once-off fee of US$20, while game drive permits, previously ranging between US$800 and US$1 000, have been cut by 50 percent.
Boat cruise permits have also been halved, from between US$1 000 and US$2 000.
In addition, the government has removed the liquor licence requirement from the sector, while hotel registration and renewal charges for five-star hotels and guest houses have also been reduced.
The move comes as Zimbabwe’s tourism sector continues to gain ground.
With several tourist attractions, including Victoria Falls, Hwange National Park and Great Zimbabwe, the country has firmly established itself as a destination of choice for many.
Ndawana said the airline’s mandate was to ensure the improvement and enhancement of tourism connectivity within the country.
“As FastJet, we remain committed to the development of tourism in Zimbabwe through the provision of reliable and scheduled flights connecting the key points in Zimbabwe and in Southern Africa,” Ndawana said.
This comes as the airline, which celebrated its 10th anniversary in October last year, is set to introduce an afternoon flight between Victoria Falls and Johannesburg aimed at enhancing flexibility for travellers to the resort city.
“Starting on the 18th of April, we are going to enhance connectivity into Victoria Falls with an afternoon rotation from Victoria Falls to Johannesburg. This afternoon flight is designed to provide visitors, tourists with an extended period in Victoria Falls ensuring that they maximise their stay and get to travel in the afternoon and arrive in Johannesburg just in time for the evening departures back to their international destinations where they will be travelling to,” Ndawana said.
“Last year in August, we introduced a new flight between Bulawayo and Victoria Falls, which connects the second largest city in Zimbabwe… to the world-acclaimed tourism resort… This flight operates four times a week, and it connects the city of Bulawayo to Victoria Falls, ensuring that we get to improve and enhance tourism connectivity within the country of Zimbabwe,” he added.
He further stated that the airline continued to record strong passenger numbers, building on last year’s momentum.
“Last year was an interesting year, the international and the local markets performed relatively well, and what we have seen this first quarter, from January to March, is the same pattern that we have observed throughout the years.
“But from the end of March towards the Easter period, we have since started to record interesting and encouraging strong figures which are now resulting in us looking at adding extended and additional flights such as the one… between Victoria Falls and Johannesburg in the afternoon rotation,” Ndawana said.
