Sanganai/Hlanganani Expo preps on track
THE Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) says preparations for this year’s 15th edition of the Sanganai/Hlanganani World Tourism Expo to be held at the end of next month are on track.
On Wednesday the authority commenced exhibitor registration ahead of the expo, which would again be held virtually from 27–29 October 2021 on account of the Covid-19 pandemic.
National Convention Bureau acting executive director, Ms Pauline Ndlovu, said they were targeting to surpass last year’s total of 190 participants.
“Registration for exhibitors opened today (Wednesday) so we are still to determine how many have registered as at the end of today,” she told journalists during a press conference.
“But we are hoping that we will exceed the number of exhibitors that registered last year.
Last year, we had over 190 exhibitors that included 29 international exhibitors.” For Sanganai/Hlanganani World Tourism Expo, ZTA has developed a virtual system that has since been upgraded to include an on-demand meeting requests platform and a virtual auditorium.
In 2020, more than 130 international buyers registered for the premier tourism fair where one-on-one meetings exceeding 2 500 were facilitated.
Buyers were drawn from Australia, the Middle East, Europe, China, and the Pacific as well as Southern Africa.
Ms Ndlovu said this year’s event would be purely virtual unlike this year’s Zimbabwe International Trade Fair slated for next week, which would accommodate a limited number of delegates.
“With regards to the set up, we are going to have one-on-one meetings, the same format that we had last year. What we have added this year is we are going to have 2D and 3D virtual groups, so those are the options.
“The standard exhibition, which is the same format that we had last year that is the same format, which we are saying if you are a registered tourism player, you can register for that platform for free,” she said.
Responding to questions from the same platform, ZTA acting chief executive Mr Givemore Chidzidzi said the authority was on an offensive to market Zimbabwe as a tourism destination.
“We take advantage if there is an expo being organised by a fellow African country, we also take part in those shows,” said Mr Chidzidzi.
Recently, ZTA collaborated with Rida International Travel Solutions to promote destination Zimbabwe to over 400 buyers from South East Asia.
The tourism authority has adapted to the new normal in the wake of the pandemic, which now defines how to engage with the markets.
The country has remained linked to the market through various platforms and membership in international associations from key source markets such as Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA), African Travel and Tourism Association (ATTA) United Kingdom, Anerkannte Spezialisten fuer Afrika-Reisen (ASA) Germany.
ZTA believes that through such partnerships, Zimbabwe as a destination has continued to receive the much-needed exposure through engagements that have been facilitated by the associations.-The Chronicle
