11 Jul Interview with Gonçalo Ferro, General Manager, Hotel Cardoso, Mozambique
Mozambique’s tourism sector grew by 12% in 2023 thanks to a strong rebound in demand, with hotel occupancy rates above 80%. How has this growth impacted Hotel Cardoso and what trends have you observed in the local tourism sector?
The recovery of the occupancy markets has been significant, mainly in the corporate division. We came from a crisis period after the closure due to COVID-19. In 2022 we could see the numbers rising. At the moment, our main segment is corporates. It’s a strong recovery from the companies which have facilitated hotels to resume their operations. Our strongest market continues to be South Africa. It’s our neighboring country with a strong economy and an even stronger presence here in Mozambique. 2022 was the year when we started recovering our occupancy in our rates. This was followed by an increase in 2023 with more companies and investments in the country. It was a year of stability.
There is so much still to be done. The potential is here and is huge as the country is expecting the return of huge projects from oil and gas in the north of the country. That will kick off all the rest of the market segments. We think that 2023 was a good year, impacted also by the municipality elections that brought a better view of what the stability of the country was going to be.
We have almost 1,800 miles of coastline with warm waters and beautiful beaches. A lot has been done, but so much more is still to be done. The corporate segment is still at the moment the strongest one. We need to recuperate the leisure segment, however we do believe that in 2025 will see strong growth in activities, either leisure or corporate.
How do you ensure that the facilities and services of your hotel cater to business travelers?
The hotel is a beautiful property. We’re the oldest hotel in town, dating back 100 years. It is in a location that’s fabulous, over the hill seeing the bay. It has a beautiful view. Maputo is a beautiful town. We cater to our clients by modernizing our hotel. Last year we made a huge investment in the wi-fi network. We’re as fast as we can be in Maputo, renovating all our back office, all the servers, all the cabling and all the brand-new interactive TVs.
This year, we’re starting a full renovation of our hotel rooms. We’ve already done the mockup rooms. In the next six months, we expect to have a fully renovated hotel without losing the soul of the hotel, which is an old colonial building. We cannot lose that atmosphere. We’re improving our conference center too. We have four conference rooms: a huge conference room for big events, either corporate or weddings, for 350 people.
Are there any opportunities for American investors, in environmental measures or in training?
Directly with the hotel, we’re always open to working directly with the US market, which is a great market, wherever it goes. The biggest challenge for us here regarding the US market will be the flights. From North and South America flights are coming through Johannesburg and Cape Town. A direct flight coming straight to Mozambique would be great. Country-wise, bringing the planes directly to Maputo is the biggest challenge. Just for comparison, Cape Town last year in December had 8 million tourists only for the holiday period around November, December and January. Cape Town is just next door. It’s an hour’s flight.
Maputo is a vibrant city with a mix of modern urban life and historical sites. How does Hotel Cardoso integrate Mozambican heritage and the cultural and historical aspects of Maputo into its guest services and amenities?
We’ve been creating memories for more than 100 years. The hotel has so much history in its walls. One of the biggest points that we mention in the experience when our guests come is that the hotel was a big part of the peace process after the Civil War between Renamo and Frelimo. The Committee of Renamo stayed in the hotel during 1992. It was a historical period for the country where the peace talks were being discussed and came to a good conclusion with the Treaty of Rome. It was a historical moment for the hotel.
At the moment, we’re living history as we speak: we’re hosting the Military Mission from the European Union in the hotel. They have been staying with us for two years and will stay for two more years. We’re hosting the mission that is training the Mozambique military army to secure the borders, especially up in the North, and hopefully bring stability to the country. There have been some skirmishes in the North which is why the big oil and gas projects came to a stop. We know that with stability other investments and more business opportunities come.
How many people do you employ and how do you ensure training and high standards?
At the hotel, we have around 130 staff members. We’re only two expats, myself and our executive chef from Germany. The rest are all local employees. A big opportunity for any company that would like to come to Mozambique is a hospitality school. We’re not served by any hospitality school and it is needed hugely for the country and for Mozambicans, because with training and better skills, they can go anywhere, as there’s a hotel in every corner of the world. We’re missing that and so the training must be done in the hotel either on-job and through our departments.
I’m very lucky to have a great team that is very aware of the need for training and with local companies that provide training in several areas like health, security, bar, cafeteria and housekeeping. The country has a huge potential and there is so much still to be done. We need this human capital too so we can provide the service that everybody that comes to visit us will be looking for. We need to have a strong base and a strong base requires a hotel school. If an American company wants to come to install a hospitality school that’d be great. I sent this challenge to the American Embassy when I came. Unfortunately, their projects are in another direction.
How closely do you work with the American Chamber of Commerce?
We try to work as close as possible. From a business perspective, the chambers of commerce are a great support of the good companies that are active in Mozambique. When I arrived, the strategy was to be as close as possible to the chambers of commerce and the American Chamber of Commerce is always very active. They’re doing a great job and we try to be as close as possible to them.
As well as to the other Chambers of Commerce. We believe that the business is passing through and the companies that are active in the country are doing business. I must say it’s been working very well for us. We’ve been having great results. But again, we couldn’t be doing this alone. We need the support of the Chambers of Commerce.
For anybody who has never been to Mozambique, how would you like to invite them to visit, to enjoy it, to come and invest and obviously use your facilities?
If it’s the first time coming to Africa, Mozambique is a great country to start with. We can say it’s a new country. It was after 1992, when the Civil War ended, that the country started developing. We’re still a very young country, but it’s filled with lovely people who are willing to work and who have their dreams. We think it’s our responsibility to provide them with the tools that are available to us so they can develop their skills and careers and overall develop the country. At the hotel level, we like to do things simply and easily. That’s how we enchant people like when they come to Mozambique. Thinking simple and working with good quality.
The training of the staff is very important. I’m very happy to say that we greet every client with a smile. That is reflected in our quality numbers. But we do it also with the joy of doing it, which is important. There’s a young atmosphere in the hotel. We treat our guests by their name and always with a smile. We try to avoid all those heavy formalities that normally 4-star or 5-star hotels have, with a very proximity approach to our guests so they feel welcome and at home far away from home. That’s our website slogan: It’s your home away from home.
What would be your final message to our readers about visiting Mozambique, about visiting your hotel specifically?
If you come to Mozambique for a business approach, come through the American Chamber of Commerce, it’s a must-do. I’ll never recommend a company to come by itself trying to see what the market is. It takes too much time, too much money and the results won’t be the expected ones. If you’re planning to invest in Mozambique, it’s a country where whatever you think you can do can be done because the land is so fertile. If you’re planning to do that on a corporate site, you must stay at the Cardoso Hotel, which is the best hotel in town. We have the facilities and the structure for the modern-day guest.
If you’re coming for leisure tourism, it’s a beautiful country. Here in Maputo, we have beautiful buildings and gardens and we’re 30 minutes away from lovely beaches, either south, going directly to South Africa, or coming up north. Apart from beaches, you can have great experiences with safaris and the food is amazing. Mozambicans are welcoming people. You must come with an open mind because you must not forget we’re still in a third-world country, a developing country, but the potential is easily seen. The place to stay is the Cardoso Hotel. We’re so lucky to have such a beautiful view of the bay and the sunset. It’s like an Imax movie every day.