Africa-Press – Tanzania. IN response to the alarming third wave of Covid-19, health authorities in Zanzibar have teamed up with several stakeholders in the tourism industry to encourage tour guides and operators to take special precautions against the global pandemic.
An officer from the Ministry of Health, Social Welfare, Elders, Gender and Children, Mr Mhusin Haji informed tour guides and operators who gathered at the Zanzibar Insurance Corporation-ZIC conference hall, Mpirani area, for the seminar that they should understand that Covi-19 is a real threat and precautions are inevitable.
“Tour guides are among the most vulnerable groups to be infected with Covid-19, we urge you to be careful when providing services to visitors and tourists. We need you to remain safe,” Mr Haji said.
The capacity building workshop for private sector stakeholders in Zanzibar tourism sector was organized by the Tanzania Private Sectors Foundation (TPSF) and hosted by the Zanzibar National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC).
Ms Victoria Michael from TPSF said that the aim of the workshop was to support trade sustainability through capacity building as well as creating resilience for local enterprises from strategic sectors impacted by Covid-19 pandemic.
She said that many tour guides are still idle as they lack jobs after tourists’ travel remain limited worldwide due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Ms Michael said in a bid to provide a cushion for the affected tour guides, TPSF decided to organize the workshop to impart them with knowledge on alternative opportunities at this time when the number of tourists coming into the country has slowed down.
Services Manager from NBC Bank, Ms Sungi Temba advised the tour operators to be innovative and engage in entrepreneurship to mitigate the impact of coronavirus.
She also urged them to create a habit of saving the money they get from the lucrative tourism industry. Some of the beneficiaries of the workshop — Ms Aisha Mohamed Juma and Mr Mohamed Haji Omar thanked TPSF and ZNCC for organizing the workshop.
They shared their concerns, including delays and bureaucracy in getting results in time at the Covid-19 testing centres, which they said has remained unresolved.
“We want major reforms in Covid-19 testing by having reliable results in time,” Mr Omar said.
Meanwhile, the Minister of State- Office of the President (Labour, Economy, and Investments) Mr Mudrik Ramadhan Soraga has encouraged entrepreneurs in the isles to be competitive and find strategies of penetrating the regional and international markets.
He said this when opening an entrepreneurs’ products exhibition and sale yesterday at the Ministry of Tourism and Heritage grounds to mark the International Day of Cooperatives 2021.
Mr Soraga called on all people engaged in entrepreneurship to do more in improving their products, short of which he said they will continue having challenges in securing markets for their products.
He said: “Improve your products because competitiveness comes from the business flexibility to access and sell goods locally, regionally and at the international market. You should produce the right quality and quantity of goods and services, which would meet the standard requirement of the international and regional markets in order to generate more revenue.”
In marking the International Day of Cooperatives 2021, different activities have been organized before the climax today, according to the Director- ‘Zanzibar Cooperative Development, Mr Khamis Daudi Simba.
The 2021 Cooperative Day theme is “Rebuild better together.” Mr Simba said they will showcase how they are facing the Covid-19 pandemic crisis with solidarity and resilience and offering communities a people-centred and environmentally just recovery.
