In a bid to standardize hotels operating across the country, Zambia Tourism Agency (ZTA) will soon start grading all hotels operating in Zambia in partnership with the Zambia Bureau of Standards.

ZTA's CEO Felix Chaila who announced this while addressing newsmen at a briefing in Lusaka said that the exercise is important particularly because hotels in Zambia have not been graded for a long time.

In addition to standardizing hotels, the exercise will also give potential guests the opportunity to preview hotels' products nad services before booking or checking in.

“What has been happening is that for a long time, we have had hotels coming up and saying they are Five Star or Four Star without even having anything to prove that claim but the grading system will help change that,” Mr Chaila said.

“The renew period for 2017 licenses was to end on December 31, 2016, however, in recognition of some mitigating factors, this period has been extended to January 31, 2017. Application forms may be downloaded from ZTA’s website or picked up from the Ministry of Tourism and Arts regional offices in Ndola and Kasama,” Mr Chaila said.

Zambia Tourism Agency was established through an Act of Parliament number 24 of 2007 with a mandate to promote and market Zambia as a tourist destination within and outside Zambia.