2,000 tourism enterprises licensed by ZTA

The Zambia Tourism Agency says it has so far graded about 33 accommodation facilities and licensed about 2,000 tourism enterprises.

Agency Acting Chief Executive Officer, Chavunga Lungu says the exercise has continued and is currently being conducted in western Province.

Speaking in Lusaka today during a two day workshop for the 116 Councils in the country on the Licensing and Standards of Tourism Enterprises, Mr. Lungu says Statutory Instrument number 14 of 2018 on accommodations and standards empowers the ZTA to commence the grading of all the accommodation establishments and setting of minimum standards for all tourism establishments across the country.

Mr. Lungu says the main objective of the grading of accommodation facilities is to establish and improve standards in the accommodation sub sector by ensuring that all registered accommodation facilities meets the minimum requirements.

He says the Agency has a task is to transform the Tourism sector so that it brings meaningful opportunities for all Zambians.

And speaking when he opened the workshop, Ministry of Tourism Permanent Secretary Evans Muhanga says Zambia needs to ensure the tourism sector is ready to welcome visitors both local and international as it works hard to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mr. Muhanga says the COVID 19 pandemic has brought forth unprecedented and unpredictable change that presents new challenges for the tourism industry.

Speaking earlier, Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development Permanent Secretary for Administration, Maambo Hamaundu notes that Zambia has witnessed a growing number of different hotel brands opening up across the country.

Mr. Hamaundu says this important development means that the inspectorate divisions within the councils should be strengthened and properly equipped to be able to respond to the increasing demand of local authority services in the Hospitality Industry.