Business was so low that at times I had to take two dollars or even a dollar for a trip across town because it was better than spending a day without a cent HARARE As the curtain came down on the World Cup on Sunday in South Africa, Zimbabweans who were looking forward to gain financially from this historic occasion are mourning their losses.
Many, from taxi drivers to hotels and sex workers, had hoped to make fortunes from the anticipated influx of tourists coming to watch the soccer games in neighbouring South Africa, but this was not to be.
Despite the hype in the media about an increased inflow of tourists, there has not been an increase in clients needing taxi services, said Takura Makundwa, a driver with Larkshire Taxis.
Another taxi driver said he even lost his local clientele during the tournament.
Many of my clients who usually stayed late at entertainment joints and called for my services were now going home early to watch soccer with their families. I had a hard time mobilising the required cash, he said.
The taxi drivers said they also lost money from their traditional customers such as the cross border traders who had taken a break during the tournament.
Business was so low that at times I had to take two dollars or even a dollar for a trip across town because it was better than spending a day without a cent, said one driver.
Tourism Minister Walter Mzembi recently admitted Zimbabwes failure to attract tourism from the soccer showcase.
Before the start of the tournament we ran on a false line that we should host some of the teams participating in the World Cup. However we have not seen the gesture as we had anticipated, noted Mzembi.
Despite efforts by the government to woo tourists and some of the 32 teams that contested in the World Cup, the country failed to record meaningful gains.
The countrys giant hotel operators Rainbow Tourism Group recently announced that it had not benefitted anything from the soccer tournament.
We have not yet got anything from the World Cup going on in South Africa besides the excitement we had when we hosted the Brazilian team. Our hotels remain unoccupied despite the hope (we) had, Chief Executive Chipo Mtasa told delegates in Harare recently.
There was also no business for sculptors and hoteliers.
Kariba, which usually attracts a lot of tourists at this time of the year because of the cooler climate did not record any huge World Cup related business.
A visit by The Zimbabwean to Kariba last week revealed that the much anticipated spill offs of world soccer showcase in South Africa was a non-event.
There was no hive of activity in the resort town, which is regarded as a hub of tourism in Zimbabwe.
An employee at one of the hotels, Cartisac, told The Zimbabwean that business was at its lowest ebb despite their hotel having gone on an aggressive marketing during the run up to the soccer show case.
We did everything to market our hotel but nothing materialised. Tourists remained locked up in South Africa. We thought more tourists would flock to the country during the initial stages but by the look of things we lost out, said the official.
Another top official at Caribbean Bay confirmed that there wasnt any significant World Cup related business during the tournament. He said they had not recorded much business.
There is nothing to talk about. The situation has remained the same and we are just optimistic that a few tourists will visit the country on their way back, he said.
A curios vendor, Tendai Mukurazhizha, said: It could have been wise for us to go with our curios to Limpopo. Business was low and only a few tourists came but they did not buy much,
Other vendors said some tourists found Zimbabwe expensive.
The prices of the raw materials are high in the country and we are forced to bypass the cost to the buyers. The few tourists who visited registered their displeasure over our pricing, said Marita Ndobwe who sells crotchet ware.
Sex workers who had camped in the resort town of Victoria Falls were disappointed as business was low. The World Cup extravaganza had promised a lot of hope for them.
There was a sudden upsurge in sex workers in the night clubs before the World Cup. Some were even renting in lodges around town hoping that they will find clients. Unfortunately it was not to be as a few tourists came. Mostly the elderly are coming and these are not that sexually active, said John Ndlovu.
A night club owner said beer sales had fallen down since the sex workers started leaving town.
Generally men buy more beer when they see ladies around. So in the beginning when the new ladies came, a lot of men wanted to have them. However, since their leaving, beer sales have plummeted, said a night club owner.
A sex worker who identified herself as Tamara said she was from Lupane. After arriving here I booked myself at a lodge. I hoped to get business from whites especially but I ended up going for locals who are stingy. All they did was to buy beer. So I am going back home, said Tamara.
Another said Victoria Falls had really changed in terms of the night life.
This place used to be kicking. We used to come here in the early 2000s and book lodges. We would get back our money in no time. But now I have been here since June and I have nothing to show for it as all the money I am getting is going to food and rentals, she said.
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