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Business Reporter

A LEADING South Korean tour operator hopes to explore Sanganai/Hlanganani World Travel Expo and sell Zimbabwe’s tourism products in that country and Asia at large.

Bulawayo will host the country’s prime international tourism expo next month.

Mr Cheng Shipak is among the buyers from South Korea who have confirmed booking for a pre-tour ahead of the world expo, which will take them to Victoria Falls, Hwange National Park, Bulawayo and Harare.

“We are attending Sanganai/Hlanganani as buyers and looking forward to meeting the rest of the world at this tourism exchange. We want to enhance our knowledge and experience about the destination we have since booked to take part in a pre-tour that covers the mighty Victoria Falls, Hwange National Park, Bulawayo and Harare,” he said.

“We insist on collaborating with tour companies in Zimbabwe and Southern Africa as a whole thereby driving tourist traffic from South Korea and Asia at large.”

Victoria Falls-based tour operator, Mrs Barbara Murasiranwa, is hopeful that the 12th edition of Sanganai/Hlanganani World Expo will live up to expectations. 

“We’re ready as a tourism industry and are expecting to meet up with a lot of buyers who will bring Zimbabwe as a destination back on the map,” she said.

“When the buyers come and buy from Zimbabwe, not from South Africa, but buying Zimbabwe, Uganda or any other country, it builds confidence for the buyers or source markets to say we’ve seen what they have in store,” said Mrs Murasiranwa. 

“There is going to be some familiarisation tours where we receive buyers, show them what we have in terms of hotels and activities and encourage them to spend more than the days they would be staying. This is because they would have seen that there is so much to do in Zimbabwe that they cannot just book for a day and leave.”

Mrs Murasiranwa said they were excited about the Sanganai/Hlanganani expo and paid tribute to the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) for putting together the world expo.

ZTA head corporate affairs, Mr Godfrey Koti, said over 250 exhibitors have registered with about 20 countries having confirmed their participation including India, China, Nigeria, Zambia, South Africa, Botswana and Mozambique.

“This is going to be a three-day event in which we are trying to promote Zimbabwe for MICE, which is meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions. We are promoting Zimbabwe as a MICE destination where people come and converge. 

“They must also take this opportunity to do business and we want to use this event to further promote that idea, especially considering the fact that this exposition is registered under the United Nations World Tourism Organisation calendar,” he said.