Zambia Tourism Board (ZTB) has launched a holiday loan facility which it has said is aimed at boosting the domestic tourism.
The Tourism Board has said that the involvement of local people as tourists will enhance growth and sustainability of the tourism sector.
ZTB managing director Felix Chaila said in Kitwe during the launch of the holiday loan package that domestic tourism has the potential to contribute effectively to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) .
“Tourism is a sustainable resource which local people can explore to increase productivity as it would enable them to refresh after taking time off on holiday with their families,” Mr.Chaila said.
He noted that despite Zambia being endowed with diverse tourism attraction sites local people do not have an opportunity to go on holiday as compared to foreign tourists because of financial constraints.
Mr. Chaila stated that this situation prompted ZTB to partner with local and international financial institutions to introduce the holiday loan package to enable local people who are in employment and have an opportunity to go on holiday.
“This way the employers and their workers will be engaged to actively participate in the tourism sector and also promote domestic tourism through local work force, ” He said .
ZTB chairperson Timothy Mushibwe said the involvement of local people as tourists will enhance growth and sustainability of the tourism sector.
Mr. Mushibwe said the sector needs full participation of the Zambians as key players through service provision such as catering and travel agency institutions.
” The Tourism Board would like to provide an equal opportunity to the local tourists and partner with them so that an economic value can be realized, ” He said.
Mr. Mushibwe said the response from local and international banks on the loan package has been overwhelming and hoped other banks can come on board to promote local tourism.
ZANIS
Please just save for that holiday. How can you start encouraging people to borrow for a holiday?
I think ZTB should be giving money to Zambians for them to invest in tourism instead of giving them money to pay foreigners who control the tourism sector in Zambia
A holiday is supposed to help you relax and have a great time with friends and family and not cause you to start worrying about how you will repay the “holiday loan.” In the ideal world, one does not need a loan but utilise resources from savings to go on holiday.
Zambians don’t need to be exploited and overburdened by such scheming by ZNTB. All that is required is for govt and all other employers to pay living wages to the hard working Zambian population. Close ZNTB if you have run out of ideas…..Please stop this holiday loan nonsense
This is very Funny!! what kind of thinking is this? you want to leave people in debt for them to go and see their animals? Why not promote local participation by introducing free tours for local?
Hmmmm. Crazy this is! That is all.
What a s.t.uu.p.i.d decision
Is this Namugala’s idea?
Zambian people need jobs, healthcare, better infrastructure not trips to look at trees. I am waiting to see which dumb a.s.s. person is going to get a loan to take a local holiday
1 Dinx,
” Please just save for that holiday. How can you start encouraging people to borrow for a holiday? ”
Exactly my thought. This looks like a ‘let’s pretend we have disposable income’ gimmick. Instead, why not CREATE disposable income for people?
Substance vs appearance. And why the obsession with tourism? Tourism is never going to power the economy, nor should it. Tourism also makes the country’s economy extremely vulnerable to vilification campaigns in the foreign press, and economic downturns, etc.
There is no substitute for agriculture, manufacturing and infrastructure.
How can one borrow to take a holiday? Horrible thinking!!!!!!!!!!! People are wallowing in poverty in the slums and stupid people are encouraging borrowing to go for holiday? How can one go for a holiday on an empty berry. A holiday is a luxury which very few individuals can afford. Lets talk about investment opportunities to create employment for our people. NOT IFYO MWAMBA IYO!!!!!!!!!!
Our students have researched and believe that this is not a wise idea. ZTB should lend money to Zambians to invest in tourism and not to go for holidays although this is necessary. ZTB should encourage lodge operators and charter planes to reduce on the cost for accommodation and air fares respectively. GRZ should also be encouraged to reduce cost for fuel aviation. Cheap cost for air fares and accommodation will encourage more local tourists.
hmmmm this is crazy for sure loan for holiday when most people want loans to either develop their houses. What the government should do is to ask the Zambians what they want not these useless ideas they are bringing. People need reduced interest on loans to bulid houses not loans for holidays. Even in developed countries people dont make such wrong decisions of getting a loan for holiday. Can someone please advise these people advocating for holiday loans to read the hardships that alot of Zambians are going through.
What an idea!!!!!!!!! Zambia Tourism Board just lacks innovation capability to come with with innovative and investable potential ideas. Who would borrow money to go on holiday anyway?
oh please stop this nonsense bane.We know you want to loan yourselves and never pay back.This is not a wise decision.Those loan will never be paid back,first of all there’s no job security in Zambia and secondary there’s no normal Zambian who would love to go and see animals when his family has nothing to eat and his children can’t go to school because of school fees.May God have mercy on your thinking please stop this useless ideas.
Yeah, I have to agree – borrowing for a holiday is a pretty dumb thing to do!
Unlike a business loan, mortgage, or car loan, borrowing for a holiday is totally unproductive and doesn’t even leave an asset the borrower can sell later (…I’m not paying for your holiday pictures, OK!). Frankly, it is irresponsible to encourage people to go into debt for something like this! What kind of feeble brains are these at ZTB?
And how is this even going to work in a country with 19% interest? You would have to be mad to borrow at that rate for a vacation (…or if you can afford 19%, you definitely don’t need a loan for your holiday!).
Probably we should expect a taxpayer financed bailout of defaulted holiday loans as the next great policy to boost domestic tourism.
Another RB endorsed idea! Zany
Oh sorry, another strategy to siphone money from Zambian by Bwezani Gongo;le Banda. Shame on you sirs
Are these secured loans or just free money? What will be the criteria? Who will be entitled to these loans? What is the collateral? I thinks Zambian politicians have now reached rock bottom and they have started digging! Who ever thought of this idea is a periplaneta!!!
(Periplaneta zambianica) hahahahahahaha
@ 2 Mashimba and @9 Matero Uni, I totally agree with you, you summed it all so well. In addition what Zambia needs is a proper marketing strategy to attract International tourists.
We need a proper communication system, I’m not just referring to the phone or internet it’s also proper roads leading to the tourist attractions, adequate information to know why some of these sites should be visited and a clean environment among other things.
Cont.. @ 17
Nothing is labelled in Zambia, one is totally lost even to find such an important site as the source of the might Zambezi river, where is ngombe ilede? it’s an important historical site, no sign post, no road, nothing to read on when you finally get to the site, if you ever get there. Having spent so many years in South East Asia were tourism is so well organised, I can only say a lot needs to be done to market our beautiful Zambia……..she is got potential.
I sometimes wonder how some people manage to keep their jobs with such mediocre management skills! “holiday loans”, what utter nonsense is that? If they want to encourage Zambians to go on holiday, why offer citizens special packages and discounts? How can we develop our tourism potential with such neanderthals running the show…
people borrow money to spend on production or on consumption including purchase of luxury and status cars like bmw and daimler benz, or even to eat some chicken instead of kapenta and chibwabwa, or even to buy a designer suit, nothing strange about that. there is no one way of doing things, but i do support the suggestion that one way to encourage local tourism by locals or even international tourists is to look into the cost elements of the tourism sector, e.g. cost of food, drinks, accommodation, fuel, airfares etc etc
I think we are being silly to encourage people to take loans to go for holiday when they cannot afford the basic essentials. It is similar to the geyser issue.
#2 ,I don’t see that happening any time soon I remember some time back had initiated a loan scheme for small businesses to get loans to either expand their businesses,improve or start new businesses but the funds landed in the wrong hands and most of it was not utilised for what it was intended for.
Some people here are showing a lot of ignorance that foreigners do not borrow to go for holidays in Africa or anywhere else. As far as I know that is the purpose of credit cards and most of them pay by credit cards and then get back home to work hard and repay these expenses. The only difference is that for our colleagues the interest is very low. If banks reduced interests today say to 10% we will ‘all’ go on holidays, drive new cars from Honda, Toyota and CFAO and carry mortgages on our payslips.
we can afford to pay for our own holidays , what we need is the operators to change us local rates and not the 200 to 600 dollars per nite sharing.
In other countries, Locals pay less for accommodation than foreigners. Here in Zambia, I have to pay the same amount as a foreigner. where is my advantage of being a Zambian ? the high cost of food, accommodation, transport and poor infrastructure and not forgetting expensive fuel make Zambia Tourism uncompetitive in the region and beyond reach for 95 percent of the local population. It is still cheaper for me to take my family of 4 to south africa and stay there for a week or go to livingstone and sleep on the Zimbabwean side where its cheaper than our extravagant hotels.What a country. The only cheap thing here is marijuana.
#26, please, its you who is ignorant. theres a re- verse to what you are saying. please read more. people are now being encouraged to avoid what you are saying. well i dont laugh at this because its in line with our presidents objectives of borrowing for everything. when other countries are fighting to reduce the PSBR. our government continues to borrow. honestry we need a change of the government. the priorities of the current government are very misplaced. even the money to pay UNZA students the president has to borrow and talk about it? dont you think this is so shameful to our president? this president has no ministers?
Let that company give loans for people to build their own houses.
We Zambians are not serious..ZNTB wants to be a microfin financing “local” holidays? Does ZNTB have the management capacity to administer such a scheme? From Lusaka it probably costs the same to have a one week break in Cape Town as it would to spend one week at Kasaba Bay!! Which of the two destinations offers value for money?? ZNTB has its priorities all wrong probably because the wrong people are at its helm. This proposed ZNTB strategy doesn’t deserve any further comment, my time is better spent on other articles!!
Just introduce special rates for locals. That is what a lot of progressive tourist destinations have done. Some include differentiated rates at entry, room rates and braai spots. We already have experience of unpaid loans and untraceable abodes…
Do we have “think tanks” in Zambia really?? Much as we need holidays, ‘holiday loans’ is a joke of the year from ZNTB. Civil servants’ expenditure is 3 times higher than their income, so for a civil servant in zambia who goes home with K1,500,000 ( €300) every month to save for his or her holiday with 3 children would take 10 years: 2 Teachers from Kasama wishing to go to Livingstone for Holiday: transport, accomodation, food, fees to see attractions, etc
Whats wrong with a Holiday Loan. People in advanced countries use a credit card to go on holiday is that not a Loan??
Too many DULL Zambians as usual.
Why can`t you just have a special discount for citizens. The package is a bad idea because our citizens will end up killing themselves just because they can`t pay back the loan. However, they will be harassed all the time. Just don`t do this fahking loan.Whoever came up with this should kill himself full stop
This is such a crazy idea!!! People will be going bankrupt just because they want to go on holiday? Who would even enjoy such a holiday?
this is bull shit bull sh-i-t, why should people borroe for a holiday they need to earn it bull sh-i-t the bullest sh-i-test thing ever by the ZNTB
the things hindering tourism is expensive accomodation + expensive visa fees, high air travel fares if these can be reduced and local packages introduced, we can be the best in tourism, bad bad policies + hgh taxations makes the cost of doing business high.
Kwena this loan thing is not well thought.Why not introduce low season rates during times when citizens are busy working and when schools are open?or y not initiate ordinary fees for them?we see this kind of service working for airlines they have business class & economy.some banks have various accounts for there customers like prestige accounts,savings etc even if one goes to a stadium match tickets are for the wing some will be for grandstand and V.I.P.so ZNTB should just categories there fees in order to suit ordinary citizens.otherswise we will just be visiting mundawanga.
If i was the PS for tourism i would fire this MD what school of economics did he go Zambia is not even a middle income country yet and you want people to borrow for holiday bush-it. Please we have people who are educated and understand how tourism operates don’t just appoint people who have no technical know how to run such important institutions as ZTB. Loaning for someone to take a holiday is not marketing.
Fire Namungala Mushibwe and this uneducated MD and replace them with qualified young men and women you mean the Ministry of tourism has no qualified people to run ZTB this is a shameful marketing strategy that has never worked anywhere.
It all just shows that ZTB lacks in-depth research and stakeholder consultation. People in the developed yes use Credit Cards but they struggle to pay back some even commits suicide
The article reading between lines lacks specifics and for me i don’t believe ZTB would adopt such a marketing strategy if so its a shame then
I think ZNTB is more interested in increasing their torist numbers and revenue hence will adopt any strategy their will make them achieve their goal. Unfortunately in a loan agreement the borrower (ZNTB) has no sympathy for the borrower (Local Zambian). Hence the burden lies on the individual to have some financial discpline and decide whether its prudent for them or not. We are no longer a humanists state. This capitalism so really you can’t blame ZNTB for their plan.
I think the primary problem of low number of local tourists lies not only in many local Zambians not being able to afford local holiday destinations but rather more in the attitude of Zambians. ZNTB has a huge task for changing the mindset of Zambians so that they find local holidays appealing. There are many Zambians that spend millions of kwachas on alcohol every weekend. And yep majority being civil servants. They can easily afford holidays but they don’t find them appealing. They would rather take their girlfriends to South Africa than go to South Luangwa national Park.
Our tourist infrastructure is also quite poor. Its like concentration is just on Livingstone, so even if someone could afford there is no incentive to spend. Back in the Kaunda days people even used to go for honey moons at Kasaba Bay nowadays I don’t even hear of it. I hear the airstrip is all grass!
# 31The Engineer. For sure you are a metal man/woman. A credit card is no just given to every Jim and Jack. You must be credit worthy. And most Zambians do not have DISPOSABLE income hence do not need such crap of borrowing to have some holiday. We know you are MMD but at times think properly. There is NO tourism authority in the world that lend money to people for holidays. They come up with incentives to accommodate local and foreign tourists. I bet the person who came up with this ideal was your study mate.
Clearly if there is an opportunity for loans then this should be for small scale enterprise rather than money for holiday. People are not going to fall for the idea. If the money is used for investing in the community for empowerment and capacity building then alot of Zambians would like to consider the opportunity to set up there own smabusinesses thereby boosting the local economy. Travelling to either Livingstone or the Luangwa valley just to mingle with tourists is not the answer. The bright future of Zambia is in its people becoming entrepreneurs, not borrowing money to be local tourists. For this reason i would suggest that the money be used to help prospective bussiness minded young Zambians to apply for loans and mentor them. Lets take a step back, think about unemployment! Think!
I can see Zambia regaining its position in the econonomic league tables but strategy is the answer and not just throwing random ideas which dont make sense. It is clear we all like the idea of a holiday but why would anyone who is unemployed take a loan to go on holiday. Is this opportunity only open for the working class?? What about our young bright graduates who are spending lots of time looking for jobs in an economy which has potential but not delivering to get the country to the next level. Most and i mean most not all tourism enterprises are run by non Zambians. Give the Zambians old and young employed or unemployed the opportunity to come up with business ideas as a pathway to economic growth. There is the danger of the Chinese stealing the show as they are doing it now!!!!
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