Zimpapers Logo

Lenox Lizwi Mhlanga

THE Sanganai/Hlanganani World Tourism Expo 2019 juggernaut has hit Bulawayo. Those who feel it know it’s here. Today is the last day and the public has the opportunity to sample what the country has to offer in the travel and tourism sector. 

According to Mr Givemore Chidzidzi, the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) acting CEO, the 12th edition of the expo has taken off to a great start in terms of attendance and stature. This is in spite of two high profile funerals of former President Robert Mugabe and that of Major-General Trust Mugoba. 

There were fears that this would adversely affect the expo with some participants turning up at the last minute after learning that the show was on after all. 

Yours truly has been part of an exuberant media contingent that has put the showcase on every imaginable platform for the week. ZTA, the hosts, are among those organisations that realise the value of the media in ensuring that such events are well covered.

For those who are unable to attend and the tourism players who are keen to market their products to a wider audience, the media becomes a critical player in the success of tourism promotion.

In India, media contribute to 80 percent of tourist revenue and tourism, in turn, contributes 25 percent to media revenue. So it makes business sense to involve the media as part of the sector’s promotional activities.

We know that media has a pervasive power for good or bad. The Fourth Estate, in combination with the expo, presents a good opportunity for local business entities to take the advantage. 

“Media has the insidious power in promoting, informing, entertaining as well as educating the audience. It entertains at the same time promotes a country’s tourism potential,” writes Mekonen Teka Ayalew in a paper on the role of media in tourism. 

“Media (especially the new media) nowadays has become the main source of information worldwide. So, based on audience research, providing adequate information through media (more emphasis to the internet) with different pictures, videos and texts is vital,” the paper states.

It is in a similar vein that a tourism research conference was held earlier this week. Professor Ruhet Genc from the Turkish German University  implored Zimbabweans in the sector to adopt innovative approaches centred on new technology. 

Readers of this column will know this has been my thrust when writing about business opportunities. Resisting change is like trying to stop an on-coming train with your finger. It will run over you.

At the Tourism Research Conference, it was recommended to merge it with the Tourism Symposium held in Harare. Together, the events were seen to promote tourism education and development if merged. The Tourism Business Council of Zimbabwe is tasked to co-ordinate the activities and provide topics for tourism research. 

Bulawayo is fast staking a claim in the vast hospitality industry with a number of lodges sprouting all over the city. These rely on a steady traffic of travellers to survive as well as peak periods such as this one and the Zimbabwe international Trade Fair.

There is potential to develop the city as a MICE destination, as I indicated in an article two weeks ago. MICE organisations are looking for a unique venue for their conferences and workshops. This depends on the way it is packaged. 

MICE is the acronym for Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Events. “E” sometimes refers to exhibitions while “C” refers to conferences. It’s a fast expanding form of tourism that has enormous economic and social effects. 

Apart from the serious business, conference attendees would like to let their hair down or go sight-seeing as a way of releasing the stress of a serious meeting or workshop. 

The entertainment industry by extension is also in the mix by providing a leisure element that has seen some decline in a challenging economic climate. However, clients are pleasantly surprised by the variety and quality of pubs, eateries and leisure centres in the City of Kings. 

They are setting a new standard for the rest of the country to follow in terms of the kind of product that will attract the discerning traveller. The international buyers who managed to paint the city red in the evening spoke highly about the variety and quality of night spots and other recreational facilities. 

The Expo provided several opportunities for local providers to sell their products. 

The unique way of speed-networking using a tried and tested speed dating model afforded them the chance to sell to more potential international buyers than would have been the case if they were doing it themselves.

The speed networking is an enabling platform whereby international buyers meet with sellers on a one-on-one basis. Each seller is afforded the opportunity to do what in PR and Marketing we call an elevator pitch, selling their product in 5 minutes flat before moving to the next buyer.

The organisers of Sanganai/Hlanganani were happy that they were able to reach the number of buyers projected before the expo.

“We’re delighted that the numbers which we projected and planned have come to fruition,” Mr Chidzidzi said at a Press conference attended by scores of local and international media.

There is a marked improvement in what has been dubbed, Africa’s Premier Business Exchange. The three-day Sanganai/Hlanganani is being held at the Zimbabwe International Exhibition Centre in Bulawayo and ends today.