ZIMBABWE Tourism Authority (ZTA) is reportedly planning to hold a festival of the same magnitude as the Harare International Festival of Arts (HIFA) in Bulawayo around July this year.
The festival is expected to take advantage of the absence of HIFA in Harare this year and ZTA wants the corporate world to come on board as they do with HIFA.
Briefing the Minister of Industry and Commerce on the sidelines of the just ended Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) in Bulawayo, ZTA acting chief executive Rita Likukuma said they have already discussed the issue with the Joshua Nkomo Trust.
“We need to have some conversation with Industry because this year we are not going to have HIFA, which used to be very big, they said they are in debt and they cannot hold it.
“But we have just had discussions with guys from the Joshua Nkomo Trust and we are going to do a festival here (Bulawayo) in July, but we must do a HIFA-like festival but with industry participating with all the major corporates and big brands coming on board,” she said.
Should the plans come to fruition, this could be a major boost for the arts industry in Bulawayo as well as the accommodation sector.
Before falling ill, ZTA chief executive Dr Karikoga Kaseke had also proposed a festival in Bulawayo that he wanted to be held a week before Sanganai/Hlanganani World Tourism Expo as an honour to the late Vice President Joshua Nkomo.
It remains to be seen if ZTA will manage to host the two events or they maybe they will collapse them into one event since they all involve the Joshua Nkomo Trust.If effectively organised festivals have the ability to attract tourism both local and foreign.
