As part of the country’s National Tourism Recovery and Growth Strategy, the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) is seeking ISO Certification 9001 to improve service levels and customer satisfaction within the tourism and hospitality industry.

It has engaged the Standards Association of Zimbabwe to implement this.

ZTA Acting CEO, Givemore Chidzidzi, said: “This is our commitment to improve efficiency in the organisation and to improve on service delivery. We are looking at transforming this organisation into one that is going to deliver our mandate to the satisfaction of our principals and to the satisfaction of the nation.”

An eight-member team has been appointed to lead the ISO certification process, with Chidzidzi noting that members of the team had started training with the Standards Association of Zimbabwe.

ISO 9001 is defined as the international standard that specifies requirements for a quality management system. Organisations use the standard to demonstrate the ability to consistently provide products and services that meet customer and regulatory requirements. It is the most popular standard in the ISO 9000 series and the only standard that can be certified.

International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) standards are globally recognised, which allows for a consistent framework for quality management, regardless of where a company is located. It also makes doing business with organisations in other countries much easier, since businesses work with a standard set of suggested practices.