By 
By Abel Mavura
In line with the country’s National Development Strategy 1, the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority has started rolling out an aggressive Service Excellence training programme.
ZTA’s Head of Corporate Affairs, Godfrey ‘Chief’ Koti says the programme kicked off in March with the training of ten Provincial Tourism Officers from the Ministry of Environment Climate Tourism and Hospitality Industry.
“The training was undertaken with emphasis mainly on good ambassadorship for destination Zimbabwe, handling guests, receiving, welcoming guests, handling guests’ complaints, creating guest memorable experiences, how to increase up-selling skills, cutlery handling, utensils cleaning, food production and service, grooming and deportment among others,” he said.
Koti also confirmed that the training had been extended to ZTA’s front-line staff and will be rolled out to all of its staff members.
“It is our duty to ensure that tourism operators are well trained on the importance of efficient service provision. We are here to assist tourism players, in this case, our employees need to understand the importance of service excellence. Our executive at the ZTA continues to underscore the need for our staff to prioritize this,” Koti added.
The training is set to be rolled out to front-line staff from hotels, lodges, guest houses. The ZTA is also expected to take the programme to fellow parastatals and State Enterprises such as the Immigration department, the Airport Company of Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Republic Police, National Handling Services,
Zimparks. This is aimed at improving service delivery within the entire hospitality industry and other supporting organizations in handling and dealing with clients in the Tourism industry in Zimbabwe.
