AFRICAN Sun Limited (ASL) says it has invested in excess of US$11,5 million in the refurbishment of its hotels as it aims to accelerate its contribution to the countries’ quest to attain a US$5 billion tourism economy by 2025.
The refurbishments have been centred around four of its hotels and it started with a 17 room refurbishment of Troutbeck Resort in Nyanga, which was completed recently.
AfriSun CEO Peter Saungweme said the company splurged US$2 million on refurbishments at Troutbeck.
As the refurbishment drive continues, Saungweme said renovation of the Hwange Safari Lodge had commenced.
“We have also just started on the refurbishment of the Hwange Safari Lodge,” he said.
“The first phase which has just started is projected to end in February, March next year. We focused on sixty rooms.
“We are targeting that as we get into the festive season, at the very least, twenty five of those rooms would have been released on the market.
“Next year we will embark on the refurbishment of the remaining forty rooms before embarking on the public areas.
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“That particular investment of the rooms plus the public areas we anticipate, will consume at least US$4, 5 million.”
Saungweme said the group had embarked on a robust investment drive into some of its hotels which is going to occupy the group in the next three to four years.
In Masvingo, Saungweme said the group was at an advanced stage of completing refurbishment of all the rooms at the Great Zimbabwe hotel.
“In Victoria Falls, we released forty seven rooms’ upgraded rooms in an investment that cost about US$5 million that has been released and it’s ready,” he said.
“As African Sun we are excited to see the government putting tourism as one of the cornerstones of economic growth and recovery.
“That’s the reason why you then see that everything that we are going to be doing first and foremost around renovations and later growth itself in terms of building new hotels resonates well with that wider government thrust of growing the industry.
“ Our selves will certainly play our part towards the realisation of the US$5 billion mile stone.”
The group operates about 10 hotels in the country.
The Tourism Recovery Plan seeks to expedite the growth of the tourism industry post Covid-19 by luring more investment in the sector as well as the intensive marketing of destinations to both domestic and international tourists in a bid to attain a five billion tourism economy by 2025.
