By Daniel Chigundu
Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) acting chief executive Givemore Chidzidzi says the country’s premier tourism business expo Sanganai/Hlanganani will maintain its hybrid format going forward.
Sanganai/Hlanganani which used to be a physical exhibition show happening at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) grounds in Bulawayo, adopted the virtual format last year due to COVID-19.
Speaking at the media cocktail, Chidzidzi said the hybrid format has the advantage of ensuring that the event will remain online until the next edition.
‘’I would like to thank my team at ZTA, for putting up this show. This is the second time that we are having Sanganai/Hlanganani virtually and it is now going to be always a hybrid, because those that are familiar with shows like ITB they introduced virtual ITB a while ago, while Sanganai/Hlanganani was always physical.
‘’The joy of it is that it will be online all the time, so Sanganai/Hlanganani will be there online. People will be attending to their buyers and attending meetings throughout the year until we hold the next Sanganai/Hlanganani,’’ he said.
The 15th edition of Sanganai/Hlanganani was held from the 27th to the 29th of October and included webinars that touched on various issues in the tourism sector, both locally and globally.
Some of the webinars included Aviation and Tourism Development, Explore and Invest: Tourism Sector of Zimbabwe, The future is green and The future of MICE Tourism in Zimbabwe among others.
Tourism is one of the key pillars for economic revival for the second republic together with agriculture and mining.
The sector has potential to generate the much-needed foreign currency for the country if it is adequately financed.
In the absence of international arrivals due to COVID-19 restrictions in many source markets, ZTA has been pushing the tourism brand to the locals through the Zimbho campaign.
Government on its part, has moved on to ensure Victoria Falls which is one of the main attraction centres in the country reaches COVID-19 herd immunity so that resorts can be opened.
The move has seen a sizeable traffic arriving in the city of Victoria Fall
