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Business Reporter
THE Government has provided enough funding to kick-start preparations for the 2017 Sanganai/Hlanganani World Travel and Tourism Expo to be held in Bulawayo at the end of September, an official has said.

The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) had hinted on the cancellation of the event this year due to lack of funding, a decision that Government reversed recently.

Yesterday, ZTA chief executive officer Dr Karikoga Kaseke announced that funding had been availed and that preparations had resumed.

“The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority would like to inform its esteemed tourism partners, stakeholders and the nation at large, that Sanganai/Hlanganani – World Tourism Expo 2017 preparations have resumed. This is despite our previously announced possibility of cancelling the event due to lack of funding,” said Dr Kaseke.

He said the new development had been prompted by the commitment made by the Government to fund the expo and also to pay all the debts that were incurred during the previous edition of Sanganai/Hlanganani Expo.

“In a meeting held between the ZTA and the Ministry of Finance on the 11th of April 2017, officials from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development did not only commit to fund Sanganai 2017 but they have already disbursed funds for us to pay all the service providers who supplied goods and services to Sanganai last year but were still being owed by the ZTA,” he said without giving figures.

“The Ministry of Finance has also provided us with enough funds to start preparations for this year’s edition of the Sanganai/Hlanganani expo.”

Dr Kaseke said ZTA was excited about the development and had agreed to push the dates forward to enable proper planning and to re-activate a robust international buyer recruitment and selection process.

As such, he said, the fair would now be held from 27 to 30 September 2017 in Bulawayo at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair.

The Sanganai/Hlanganani Expo is a UNWTO recognised global travel fair that is focused on improving business facilitation, quality of deals and business connections between exhibitors and buyers.

Dr Kaseke appealed to the tourism industry players to start their own preparations and ensure a successful fair.