VICTORIA Falls Safari Lodge, a flagship of Africa Albida Tourism group, says it earned about $23,3 million from sales of nearly 178 000 rooms in 2013, as tourism showed signs of recovery.
Ross Kennedy, chief executive, of Africa Albida Tourism said 2013 was a very good year for the lodge. He did not give figures for the whole group, whose portfolio includes the RCI Gold Crown Resort Lokuthula Lodges, also in Victoria Falls, and Ngoma Safari Lodge in the Chobe, Botswana.
It also owns The Victoria Falls Safari Club, an exclusive 20-room block located adjacent to the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge and the Boma – Place of Eating, a popular themed restaurant in the resort town. Kennedy said in 2012, the lodge earned $19 261 million from 159 000 rooms sold.
“The year 2013 showed an increase in arrivals of nearly 12% over the 2012 calendar year, but equally, if not more importantly, revenues grew by 20% in the same period.
Kennedy said the group had seen a remarkable growth from the UK market to Zimbabwe in the last 15 months, with arrivals trebling since 2012.
“The first two months of 2014, have seen the United Kingdom market continue to grow and it is now approximately 10% of total arrivals in Victoria Falls. We aim to grow this further to at least 20 percent of our arrivals,” he said.
Zimbabwe received nearly two million tourists last year and that number is seen rising by 50% by 2017, according to a recent report by a United Kingdom-based independent financial advisory company. —The Source
