Occupancy rate worries govt

The hospitality industry, particularly owners of hotels and lodges, should engage in aggressive marketing strategies to increase room occupancy rate, the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism has said.

Minister responsible Joseph Mwanamvekha said last week in Lilongwe that the country’s tourism industry has potential to attract more tourists through structured marketing strategy.

He was speaking after a tour of Sunbird Capital and The President’s Walmont Hotel in Lilongwe.

Said Mwanamvekha: “I have been to these two hotels and what I have seen is impressive. Sunbird Capital is not the way it was before and I can say without fear of contradiction that it can compete with any hotel in the world.

“As for The President’s Walmont Hotel, what has not pleased me is that occupancy rate is hovering between 70 percent and 80 percent and there is need to improve to reach 100 percent.”

He said with China having a burgeoning middle class, Malawi must position itself to attract more tourists from that side of the world. The Presidential Walmont Hotel was built with a loan from the Chinese government.

“Apart from tobacco, we can make tourism a thriving sector by selling the country using digital. With the formulation of the strategic plan, which I hope will be ready before the end of the year, then tourism operators are the ones who stand to benefit,” said Mwanamvekha.

On complaints by other tourism players that the sector has few trained personnel, he said government will build another school in Lilongwe to counter this challenge.

Sunbird acting chief executive officer Patrick Lisilira said they have embarked on a programme to refurbish their hotels to make them more attractive to visitors.

On his part, The President’s Walmont Hotel manager  Neil Sewnarain said business has, so far, been good, but more still needs to be done to have the rooms fully occupied.