Destination Livingstone, an Initiative comprising of public and private sector players, has embarked on a campaign to revive domestic tourism, to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Livingstone City.
Destination Livingstone Initiative Chairperson, Peter Jones says, the marketing campaign which was launched virtually yesterday, is aimed at reviving the local economy by enhancing domestic tourism.
Mr Jones observed that most tourism dependent businesses have shut down or are operating at a loss due to a drastic reduction in international tourists.
Mr. Jones said tourism services and packages for local people had always been there but needed to be highlighted to attract domestic tourists.
He said numerous investments had been made in Livingstone, not just through construction of hotels, but with the upgrading of Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula International Airport by government.
“A lot of investors put in a lot of money in the area, not just in the hotels but government also put in a lot of money in upgrading our airport and needs a return on its investment,” he said.
Mr. Jones said this in Livingstone during a meeting held at the River Club under the theme: The Re-emergence of Zambia’s tourism capital; A Cooperation between the private sector, Livingstone City Council and Local Government Departments.
He stressed the need for tourism stakeholders to adapt to new trends in the sector to attract increased numbers of domestic tourists.
“We need to adapt to new trends; tourists do not just want to see things, they want to engage with local people,” he said.
Mr. Jones said it was time to reposition the city to attract more local tourists and in readiness for the opening up of the world in the post COVID-19 era.
And speaking in an interview, Livingstone Tourism Association (LTA) Acting Chairman Hillary Kashempa said he was hopeful the marketing campaign was the first step in helping tour operators reopen their businesses, and for those which were open to record some profit.
Mr. Kashempa said if implemented effectively, local people would buy into the campaign and visit Livingstone.
“Once that happens, we are hopeful that our businesses will thrive and be sustained,” he said.
He said LTA would continue supporting all viable projects that would help make Livingstone a destination of choice for local and international clientele.
“It is a priority to market Livingstone as a preferred tourism destination, during and after the COVID-19 period. This campaign is an additional force that we need to reach out to the masses, as part of efforts to save tourism enterprises,” he said.
Destination Livingstone Initiative’s long term goal is to increase social and economic benefits that tourism can bring to the people, businesses and the local economy of Livingstone.
Ministry of Tourism Permanent Secretary Patrick Lungu sits on the Destination Livingstone Board, alongside Livingstone Acting Town Clerk George Mulenga, Livingstone Mayor Eugene Mapuwo and officials from the Zambia Tourism Agency, among others.
The problem is that you have RSA tour operators who market Livingstone as part of SA and only fly in their customers for a day or few hours and they are back to SA …all money is paid to SA..the trick is getting them to stay longer and spend more. Its like having a shopping mall where customers merely come in for window shopping
Honestly the government needs to do more in terms of infrastructure & services, dont forget we are competing with nearby Victoria falls town in Zim, Kasane in Bots and Katima Malilo in Nam. Compared to these town Lstone is dilapidated but we have alot more to offer if only we could appreciate the germ that LStone is.
Kelvin M Schneider – people only come across the border to get the best views of Victoria Falls after that there is nothing for them there…who can blame them!
The problem is the same foreign tour operators. Lodges like Susi & Chuma, Thorn Tree, Tongabezi, River Club, Tokaleya, Royal Chundu, Siankaba do not allow Zambians to eat or drink anything from there. Susi & Chuma told me to call Lusaka and book a table when I was already there. Thorn Tree told me to email Durban to ask for permission to see their rooms. I thank Corona for making them think of local people. But for me, even if they were giving free food I will not go to these lodges. They disgust me to say the least.
Livingstone is a sleeping giant but the sector has not been diversified to milk the major attractions. To boost arrivals from local guests, Livingstone must reposition itself and develop other activities and incentives. And pricing is an issue as well as linkages between domestic and international markets. Another one is service standards and sheer attitude of some operators. John is right to some extent as I have experienced that too, arriving with a family, tired and wanting to stay at some facility along Kazungula road. This must change! Operators in Mfuwe are better than Livingstone in this aspects. Good initiative but we need diversification of attractions built on the Mosi-o-tunya and the mighty Zambezi!
Create long weekends and get rid of the public holidays that don’t make money. The leadership should set the example by stay-vacations and also give every full time worker up to six weeks of vacation. Have less children so you can afford to travel .
Other countries taking advantage
Of Zambian tourist attraction as
Our tourism board not active.last
Time we saw some animals taken
In helicopters. What happened to
That case?
I agree with all the comments I have read here, Really and truly it’s high time L/stone needed a face left as a potential tourist attraction of our nation. we need to compete at the highest level with our neighbouring countries to maintain and attract our tourist status. We have resources, but we let other countries take advantage of us. We need also to be on board with our tourism promotions and to be aware of what is going on in the world today maybe this is our turn to do things differently with the technology in abundance, and also, it shouldn’t be just a tourist attraction for foreigners, it should be also for all our local Zambians as well. the point I’m raising here is an example of a covid 19 pandemic where we had no foreigners coming into our country!! So at this juncture,…