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Artistes performing at Intwasa (file photo)

Bongani Ndlovu, Showbiz Correspondent
INTWASA Arts Festival koBulawayo together with the Private Lounge will be exhibiting at the Sanganai/Hlanganani Tourism Expo for the first time.

The three-day expo, which begins in Bulawayo today at the ZITF, will officially be opened by Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko tomorrow.
Private Lounge, a major player in Zimbabwe’s nightlife and tourism industry, will tonight welcome delegates with a Buyers’ cheese and wine cocktail at their stand (number 152) in Hall 3.

A similar cocktail for exhibitors will be held tomorrow with an after party being held at Cecil Hotel, the club’s premises.

Intwasa’s stand, which is also is situated in Hall 3, will take advantage of the expo to market the festival outside the country’s borders.

“We want to push cultural tourism through our festival hence our participation this year. We hope to attract as many people as we can so that come September, an international audience will be among the crowd in Bulawayo,” Intwasa spokesperson Nkululeko Nkala said.

He said their plan was to also share ideas with other festival organisers.

“A festival of this magnitude should be hitting huge numbers, however, we realised that even after 11 years of hosting the festival, there’re still some people who don’t know it.

“Maybe by networking at the expo, we’ll find out how different festivals are hosted across the globe.”

Nkala said information about the festival and memorabilia as well as a tentative programme about the festival’s activities would be available at their stand.

Private Lounge manager Thelma Zuva said though this was their first time to exhibit at the tourism fair, they had a long working relationship with the ZTA adding that their entertainment joint was now a tourist designated venue.

“Private Lounge as many will soon realise, is not just a nightclub… there’s more to it. We’re a one-stop shop with a hotel, restaurants and bars. We intend to be counted among the important players in Zimbabwe’s tourism industry,” Zuva said.

“This is our first time exhibiting at the international expo, but we’ve been working with the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority and its parent ministry on a number of projects including the Harare International Carnival. After those successes, we’re now going a step higher to rub shoulders with other big players.”

She said by hosting cocktails, their plan was to showcase the best of Bulawayo’s cuisine and hospitality.

“It’s an unwritten rule in tourism that people will choose to visit a place with a vibrant nightlife. Clubs like Private Lounge make Bulawayo a lot more attractive to visitors and that’s all we seek to cement among the buyers and exhibitors we’ll host for the cheese and wine cocktail at our stand,” said Zuva.

Other groups in Bulawayo that are exhibiting at the expo include Umkhathi Theatre Works in Hall 2 and Amagugu International Heritage Centre in Hall 4.

Sanganai/Hlanganani, which ends on Saturday, is a fair aimed at promoting tourism in the country. Every year, it brings together thousands of visitors (national and international) for networking as well as to talk about issues affecting the tourism industry.