Beyond ZITF 2023
The 63rd edition of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) opened on Tuesday with 533 exhibitors, up 30% on last year’s figures, signalling increased interest in the premier business expo.
ZITF Company board chairman Busisa Moyo said the international response was pleasing with 25 direct exhibitors from 21 countries.
This is up from last year’s numbers in which there were 16 direct exhibitors from 13 countries.
Moyo said the organisers had to convert previously unused areas for exhibition due to increased numbers.
The premier expo has been bigger and better each year due to its pulling power.
It has become a go-to event and top on exhibitors’ calendar. This gives room for the organisers to tick all the boxes and pop the champagne bottles.
However, every year there has been hassle in terms of securing accommodation for visitors outside Bulawayo.
Inquiries this week showed that some guesthouses were charging a minimum of US$70 per room per night as they obeyed the law of supply and demand.
This is a wakeup call to players in the hospitality industry to up their game so that visitors to the city enjoy their stay during ZITF.
It is not only in Bulawayo where there is a shortage of accommodation.
The shortage is national which impedes Zimbabwe’s plans to become a serious hub for MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibition).
MICE tourism is the low hanging fruit and its effects will be felt in other ancillary industries.
New properties are coming up in Victoria Falls to capitalise on the increased demand for accommodation.
The ministries of Environment, Climate, Tourism, and Hospitality Industry and Finance should take the lead in securing funding for operators to expand their offering by roping in banks, pension funds and insurance firms.
The existing US$7.5m Tourism Revolving Fund is a drop in the ocean as the demand outstrips the purse.
Operators require patient capital to expand or spruce up the tourism product, which was neglected during the Covid-19 hiatus.
Environment, Climate, Tourism, and Hospitality Industry minister, Mangaliso Ndlovu, said the government was looking for partners to increase the fund.
That process has to be speeded up.
The government can also tap into the public private partnerships.
The government has entered into a deal with Old Mutual Life Assurance Company in which they will get a lease on 55 hectares of land in Victoria Falls for the construction of a 4-star hotel with a 5 000-seater conference centre, a hospital facility, a golf course, and a shopping mall.
The other challenge to the growth of MICE tourism has been pricing. Due to a high cost structure, the prices in the local tourism sector are ahead of those in the region.
This makes the destination uncompetitive.
