Full Zimbabwe hotels point to wider recovery

By Ed Cropley

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Occupancy rates at hotels in Zimbabwe, especially those for businessmen, have trebled since last year, pointing to signs of life in the battered African economy, the country's industry chief said on Monday.

The improvement supports the claims of Zimbabwe's troubled power-sharing government that business and investment activity has mushroomed since the worthless Zimbabwe dollar was scrapped nine months ago.

"Rates were below 30 percent but already in the last months -- most notably in city-centre hotels -- they're up to 90 percent," Zimbabwe Council of Tourism president Emmanuel Fundira told Reuters.

"Much of this is business travellers coming in to look at investments and things like that," he said on the sidelines of an investment conference in South Africa. "That level of interest in Zimbabwe is extremely encouraging."

President Robert Mugabe and his arch rival, Morgan Tsvangirai, agreed to the unity government in September 2008 after disputed elections, but the deal has yet to be implemented in full and disputes over economic policy continue to unnerve potential outside investors.

Despite this, the government this month projected economic growth for this year of 3.7 percent, jumping to 12.5 percent next year and 15 percent on average for the period 2010-2015.

Occupancy rates at tourist-focused hotels, such as those near the Victoria Falls in the northwest border with Zambia, had not fared so well, currently enjoying only 40 percent occupancy, Fundira said.

However, he said the government was still projecting tourism revenues of $100 million for 2009, compared to just $40 million last year when the country was riven by political violence.