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Michelle Moyo, [email protected]

MAJOR hotels and lodges in Bulawayo are fully booked ahead of the 64th edition of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) which will run from April 23 to 27. The event’s theme is “Innovation: The Catalyst to Industrialisation and Trade”. 

A snap survey by Business Chronicle yesterday showed that hotels in the city are bracing for brisk business during the annual trade showcase period. Cresta Churchill general manager, Mr Kudzai Ratisai, said they were fully booked for the ZITF. 

“We are fully booked. Compared to last year, payments were done much earlier, meaning most organisations have made up their minds to attend ZITF 2024,” said Mr Ratisai.

Most exhibitors and visitors usually find it difficult to find accommodation during the ZITF as all hotels and lodges run out of rooms.

Private homes usually take advantage of the accommodation crisis and charge high prices to desperate visitors. Bulawayo Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe (HAZ) representative Mrs Beauty Bhulu said all accommodation facilities are ready to host thousands of delegates expected at the country’s premier trade showcase.

United Arab Emirates

She said hotel accommodation in the city was up to standard in terms of hygiene and staffing.“We still have space for exhibitors and almost 40 percent have paid for their bookings for ZITF. “Hotels and lodges normally give their clients a deadline to pay for the booked rooms and failure to meet the deadline means they risk losing rooms to new clients as we will be trying to minimise losses,” she said.

“The challenge we are facing is that there are promises we are getting from exhibitors in terms of bookings, but when the time comes, some don’t fulfil their promises.

“There are exhibitors that have booked and promised to pay on the day of arrival. Compared to last year, our business is low, especially on the payment side, but we hope by Friday things will be better because our deadline for payment is Friday.”

Bulawayo benefits immensely from the ZITF with hotels and lodges benefiting from providing accommodation and other services to local and international guests.

Organisers have said that almost all of the exhibition halls and individual pavilions are full and as usual, international participation is again strong this year. Confirmed exhibitors include nations such as Botswana, Belarus, Brazil, People’s Republic of China, Kingdom of Eswatini, European Union, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Iran, Japan, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Netherlands, Nigeria, Romania, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Tanzania, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America and Zambia. International participation this year compares favourably with last year when 21 countries participated. — @Lo7246Lovelyn