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Michael Magoronga, Midlands Correspondent

THE mining town of Kwekwe was a hive of activity over the past weekend as it hosted a number of activities, which generated a lot of business for local entrepreneurs mainly in the tourism sector.

Among the top activities was the three-day Kwekwe Business Expo, which ran concurrently with another three-day Zesa Awareness Sports Festival at Munyathi Power Station. 

There was also the annual Miss Bodylicious, which attracted a number of artistes from across the country at a local hotel on Saturday.

The events drew scores of participants from across the country whose presence left many businesses overwhelmed with demand for key services while others ran out of stock.

Kwekwe Hoteliers Association chairperson and owner of King Solomons Hotel, Dr Solomon Matsa, said they ran out of rooms.

“Our rooms were fully booked. We had to distribute our patrons across the town and some were actually driving from Gweru and Kadoma,” said Dr Matsa.

Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) Midlands regional manager was ecstatic about the developments in the Meetings Incentives Conferences and Exhibition (MICE) tourism.

“As the ZTA we recognise and greatly appreciate the fact that MICE tourism offers great way to promote and showcase the destinations, hence the drive to create awareness of this type of tourism in the Midlands province,” she said. 

“MICE tourism is definitely on the increase in Zimbabwe, both the MeetInZim and ZimBho campaign continue to instil confidence in the market. Through these initiatives we have seen the Midlands becoming a preferred destination for both locals and foreigners alike,” she said.