Siyaya Stranded Due To Pilots Strike

A top Bulawayo-based arts group, Siyaya Arts, has failed to travel for an international festival in Scotland due to the ongoing pilots’ industrial action at Air Zimbabwe, which has seen the national airline’s fleet grounded since July 29.

Siyaya Arts spokesperson Simon Mambazo last week said they were still waiting for Air Zimbabwe to resume flights to enable the 30-member group to travel for the festival, which started on August 4.

“We are still waiting for Air Zimbabwe to come back on air. We can’t use any other airline as we were not given any refund. We were supposed to have left nearly two weeks ago for the Edinburg Festival Fringe in Scotland, but we are still stuck here,” said Mambazo.

Air Zimbabwe pilots downed tools last month, demanding payment of their outstanding salaries, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded. They have vowed to continue with the strike action until their demands are met.

The national carrier acting chief executive officer Innocent Mavhunga said: “We are re-routing some of our passengers. Some are still in hotels and those who have places to stay, we continue to talk to them to stay home while we try our best to get the flights back on.

“We have no solution as yet and we are still trying to source money through the Ministry of Transport. We are keeping our fingers crossed so that we get something to have the flights back.”

Review: Top Harare Hotel!

Harare is the capital of Zimbabwe and is said to be the largest metropolitan area. The development of this conurbation is increasing day by day which is leading in the increase in population. The destination enjoys a subtropical highland type of climate. It is an independent place and is the centre of communication, administration and commercial activities. The city manufactures tobacco, textiles, cotton, steel, maize and gold. It is well known for its educational universities and hosts annual cultural events. People in large numbers pay a visit to this interesting place as it provides top class accommodation facilities. Some of the hotels which tempt people to board flights to Harare are discussed as follows:

1. Bronte Hotel
Bronte Hotel is centrally located and is known as the garden hotel as it is surrounded by beautiful gardens. The hotel’s rate is quite reasonable and the services provided here are very good. The rooms and suites are very comfortable. The lounge and rooms are clean and the environment is very friendly. The place offers helpful staffs, high speed wireless internet facilities and restaurant which includes world class cuisines. These allurements compel visitors to book frequent cheap flights to Harare.

2. Meikles Hotel
It is the second best hotel available in the metropolis for an unforgettable experience.  It is much preferred by business travelers as it offers them many business amenities. Many years ago, the services and décor were not so alluring. However, Meikles Hotel has changed drastically at present. The best part is its ambience which is influenced by colonial era. Located beside the Africa Unit Square it provides guest with good quality and scrumptious food which calls for plenty of Harare flights. The place is quite expensive but is worth a stay.

3. Holiday Inn Harare
Holiday Inn Harare is said to be a reasonable one which offers good services. It includes different types of rooms and provides the visitors with good food service. The rooms are very spacious and the interiors are up to the mark. The environment is quite pleasant and the hotel offers guests with many facilities. It compels people to take frequent flights to Harare due to its low rates which suits pockets of each guest. This place can be visited by both leisure and business visitors. It is one of the common destinations selected by people for their stay.

4. Rainbow Towers
 It is a five star hotel where environment is both vibrant and pleasant. It is expensive but is a must stay place. The most enjoyable service provided by Rainbow Towers is the casino facility which attracts guests to book tickets to many cheap flights to Harare. The décor is very pretty and the rooms are very comfortable and spacious. The hospitality and services provided here are impeccable and unforgettable. The hotel’s meals are very fresh and are of good quality. Rainbow Towers is undoubtedly said to be the most beautiful and relaxing hotel.

EU renews ties with arists

The European Union is funding the art show with awards to re-establish its relationship with Zimbabwean art and artists and Gallery Delta. Previously the EU has sponsored huge art shows with Gallery Delta under the themes "Peace Through Unity and Diversity" in 2007 and "Unity" in 2009.

Artists present during the official launch in the Amphitheatre at Gallery Delta were ecstatic as this came against an uninspiring environment with very little movements in the local art scene.
The young emerging artists in majority with a handful of the established were on cloud nine as this is an opportunity for them to express and record in their own favourable media, their thoughts, imagination or fantasies, impressions and emotions, involving such age old and sought after desire of man to find freedom, either spiritually or in reality, and with in the theme of "Freedom Revisited".
The theme is open for interpretation by the creative minds and may involve comment and content on the social, economic, political situation and other circumstances prevailing in the country.

Rainbow Tourism of Zimbabwe to Sell Units

Rainbow Tourism Group (RTG) will sell three leisure companies to reduce losses and pay debt, the Daily News said, without saying where it got the information.


The company has $20 million of debt and reported a loss of $1.2 million in the year through December, the Daily News said. The company has a $7.5 million loan from the Africa Export- Import Bank which is financing the refurbishment of its A’Zambezi River Lodge, while a further $7 million is being spent upgrading its Rainbow Towers Hotel in Harare.

Rainbow Tourism manages 1,180 hotel rooms in Zimbabwe and Zambia, the newspaper said.

Surge in tourist traffic into the country

The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) is expecting a strong surge in tourist traffic into the country after occupancy levels increased in the resort town of Victoria Falls and city hotels in the month of July.
The positive turn for the once-embattled sector comes after the ZTA unveiled a new marketing campaign for the country predicated upon a new slogan, Zimbabwe a world of wonders.
Treasury had bankrolled the campaign as well as the rebranding of Zimbabwe as tourism product.

Before this rebranding, the campaign was anchored by the slogan Africa's paradise.
"It is amazing to note what this new brand has achieved. Arrivals have picked up tremendously as witnessed by the occupancy of our hotels," Karikoga Kaseke, Zimbabwe Tourism Authority chief executive officer, said.

"I was in Victoria Falls and the occupancy is averaging 80 percent. I also challenge you to visit Harare hotels, the levels are high."

Zimbabwe's tourism industry has been on a recovery path following the adoption of a multi-currency regime and formation of an inclusive government in 2009 that ended a political crisis triggered by a battle for power between Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC formation and President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF.
The environment prior to the formation of the inclusive government had been characterised by political bickering and an unprecedented economic meltdown characterised by record high inflation levels.
Kaseke said hotel occupancies in the resort town and city hotels averaged 80 percent in July amid expectations that the figure could further increase during the last quarter of the year.

Official figures show that room occupancy rates in Victoria Falls reached 37 percent between January and March compared to 32 percent recorded during the same period last year. City hotels in Harare and Bulawayo recorded slightly higher room occupancies compared to those in Victoria Falls at the start of the year after reaching 49 and 41 percent respectively.

Zimbabwe courts Brazilian investors

The Zimbabwe delegation, which is on a tourism, trade and investment promotion mission in Brazil, has held a trade promotion and investment business seminar with its Brazilian counter-parts.

The seminar was hosted by the Ministry of External Relations in Brazil at San Thiago Dantas Hall in Brasilia.

In a speech read on her behalf by the Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister, Walter Mzembi, Vice President Joice Mujuru said the seminar marks a turning point in the economic relations between Zimbabwe and Brazil, adding that the Zimbabwe government has since adopted a public-private partnership policy that is expected to accelerate development in all sectors of the economy.

Mujuru highlighted that Zimbabwe has in the past two years registered huge strides in macro-economic stabilisation and has managed to contain inflation within a single digit level.

She also explained to the seminar participants that the adoption of a multi- currency system in Zimbabwe together with other reforms has resulted in a conducive and stable business environment which allows forward planning investment and savings.

In the speech, Mujuru also highlighted that Zimbabwe's mining sector continues to register notable growth and is projected to grow by 44% this year since the sector is enjoying increased capacity utilisation.

She said Brazilian investors can consider opportunities that exist in the value addition chain like cutting and polishing of diamonds.

Mujuru also highlighted various opportunities in the tourism sector especially investments in accommodation, hunting safaris, transfrontier conservation areas and community based tourism enterprises.

She also said investment opportunities exist in the energy sector, saying the country has since opened up the sector to allow entry of independent power producers as a strategy to mitigate the obtaining energy deficit in the SADC region.

Zimbabwe's economy is on the recovery path with inflation rate now standing at 2,9%.

The economy registered a 5,7% growth in the year 2009 and a further growth of 8,1% in 2010 while the economy growth rate is expected to reach 9,3% this year.

Brazilian Under Secretary General for Cooperation, Culture and Trade Promotion in the Ministry of External Relations, Ambassador Hadil da Rocha Vianna said his government is ready to cooperate with Zimbabwe in various sectors of the economy.

Other members from the Zimbabwe delegation including the Zimbabwe Trade Promotion Agency Deputy Director, Ms Charity Zhanje; Zimbabwe Investment Authority (ZIA) Chief Executive, Richard Mbaiwa; Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Department Director, Ambassador Norton Rapesta and Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency Business Manager, Ms Anna Paula Repezza also exchanged notes on how the countries can cooperate for mutual benefit.