Zim Tourism Sector Lost US$1b During Covid-19 Lockdown

ZIMBABWE could have lost between US$500 million and US$1 billion during the closure of the tourism sector due to the devastating coronavirus lockdown, the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) has estimated.

In an interview with NewZim TV’s Business Brief on NewZimbabwe.com, ZTA spokesperson Godfrey Koti said the pandemic had a crippling impact on the tourism sector.

Tourism is one of Zimbabwe’s major foreign currency earners.

The government has since allowed the sector to reopen.

“It is going to be a very slow reopening. It’s going to be a very calculated reopening. The pandemic has obliterated tourism, it absolutely butchered tourism in terms of returns,” Koti said.

“In terms of revenue as Zimbabwe, we are sitting on a loss of between US$500 million to US$1 billion worth of income if we are judging with what we contributed to the fiscus last year and what we have targeted as growth.”-NewZimbabwe