Over the holiday weekend, the town center was desolate, the craft market was silent and McNamara's usually sold-out champagne river cruises were attracting little interest. The town's hotels, fully booked last Easter, were only 70 percent full this year, said Andy Conn, regional chairman of the Zimbabwe Council for Tourism. The coming months are likely to be much worse. Many reluctant visitors swallowed their fears and came this weekend because it was too late to get a refund for their accommodations. Visitors with reservations in May and later can cancel with no such penalty, Conn said.
Thousands already have.
It's looking very, very bleak,'' Conn said. The falls themselves are at their peak of beauty. The crashing spray shoots back up the hundred yard ravine, drenching delighted sightseers and turning the surrounding area into a rain forest topped by a fluffy, white cloud. The falls have awed Westerners since explorer David Livingstone stumbled upon them in 1855. But few British, American and European tourists gathered at the falls this weekend.