Forex crisis bites tourism sector

The Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Culture has said many operators are failing to remit to government the 1 percent tourism levy due to tough economic conditions in the country resulting from the fuel and forex shortages.

Director of administration in the ministry, Kenson M’bwana, said this on Friday when he opened an annual general meeting for the Malawi Tourism Association in Lilongwe.

He said government is affected when the private sector faces challenges to run business.

“The Ministry of Tourism, like everybody else, is affected and worried about the current economic problems facing businesses.

“If revenue for tourism operators go down, our collection of 1 percent market levy which we use to market destinations also goes down,” said M’bwana.

He, however, assured operators that government is doing its best to find solutions to the problems, including lobbying for the review of some policies such as its ban on conferences and meeting in lakeshore holiday resorts.

Tourism Association of Malawi chairperson Stan Phiri said his group has engaged the Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (Macra) to help the industry in view of the persistent fuel shortages.

“Many people are cancelling bookings because of the fuel shortages. If this continues, then many jobs will be on the line,” he said.

Phiri said the association will soon change its name to Malawi Tourism Council to avoid confusion that is arising with creation of tourism associations in some districts of the country.

He said the council will be the only mouthpiece of the industry and will partner with government to develop the industry.