Sunbird Tourism to capitalise on global tourism recovery
Sunbird Tourism plc says it will capitalise on the global recovery of the tourism industry to push local hotel occupancy to pre-pandemic levels.
The hotel chain’s board chairperson Vilipo Munthali said this on Friday in Blantyre during the 36th annual general meeting.
He said based on the forecast by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, the return of the global hotel room nights and travel to pre-pandemic level will trickle down to the local tourism industry.
“The board also expects the brand to capitalise on the recovery and return hotels’ occupancies to pre-pandemic levels of at least 60 percent by 2026,” said Munthali.
He said in the year under review, the supply chain was disrupted by geo-political conflict, mainly the Ukraine and Russia war that affected the cost of doing business.
“The devaluation of the kwacha also had direct impact on the costs of imports,” he said.
Minority Shareholders Association of Listed Companies secretary general Frank Harawa said they are happy with Sunbird Tourism plc’s performance, adding that the firm is operating in a tough operating environment.
He, however, said there are a number of issues to be sorted out, including offloading of shares on Malawi Stock Exchange by government, a majority shareholder with 75 percent stake.
In the year ended December 31 2023, Sunbird Tourism plc reported a profit after-tax of K5.3 billion, a 72 percent increase from K3.1 billion in 2022. The hotel chain attributed the performance to the increase in revenue and costs containment despite rising operating costs.
