Rainbow Tourism Group (RTG) recorded hotel occupancies above 50%, the first time this has ever happened in the first half of the year, benefitting from conferencing and rising tourist arrivals.
The company runs six hotels. Its flagship, the Rainbow Hotel in Harare, hosted seven heads of state during the SADC Summit in August and underwent refurbishment ahead of the meetings.
“A particularly encouraging development has been the increase in foreign tourists visiting Zimbabwe, alongside a resurgence in the domestic business segment. These factors have driven a sturdy growth in our occupancy rates, which have now surpassed pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels. This is the first time in history that the Group has broken the 50% occupancy mark at half year,” RTG says in its latest half-year results.
Hotel occupancy grew to 52% over the first half from 46% over the same time in 2023. Revenue per average room, used by hotels to measure how much revenue each room makes, rose by 78%. RTG runs two hotels in Victoria Falls, which both benefitted from higher tourism numbers.
“This growth into RTG hotels has been driven by the return of international tourists, which is now well ahead of pre-Covid-19 levels. As international tourism returns to normal in the Victoria Falls market, the growth trajectory is expected to continue into the industry’s peak season which traditionally lies in the second half of the year,” RTG reports.
The food and beverage and conferencing business grew volumes by 35%. Revenues more than doubled, up 116% to US$18 million. Profit (EBIDTA) was up 141% to US$1.4 million. However, the pressure on RTG to get ready for the SADC summit had its downsides as the company spent more cash.
“The pressure on the business to deliver the product in time for the SADC Heads of State and Government Summit led to accelerated cash outflows that resulted in a lower current ratio than would have been realised otherwise.”
Ahead of the summit, RTG converted 24 standard rooms into six diplomatic suites by collapsing four rooms into one suite. Forty-eight other rooms were refurbished. The Harare International Conference Centre had its first major overhaul since it was built in 1985.
