Sanganai set to be bigger and better

CLOUDINE MATOLA

The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) is upbeat about this year’s Sanganai/Hlanganani edition, with a surge in international buyers confirming attendance and securing tickets ahead of the event.

The expo will be held in Masvingo from September 9 to 12, 2026.

ZTA chief executive Dr George Manyaya said this year’s edition was shaping up to be “bigger and better”, with more exhibitors, business meetings and industry events than last year.

“We are ready for this year’s edition. It’s going to be bigger and better, with a lot of exhibitions and back-to-back meetings,” Dr Manyaya said.

“We are very enthusiastic because a lot of buyers from across the world have already confirmed and secured their tickets to come. It’s actually a bigger number than we had last year.”

Dr Manyaya said the expo would also feature investment conferences and gastronomy masterclasses, alongside a chief executives’ roundtable bringing together tourism leaders from Zimbabwe and across the region.

The sessions are expected to focus on investment opportunities and challenges facing the tourism industry, which is a key contributor to economic activity and supports growth across several sectors.

“We also have a lot of conferences that will be happening, an investment conference and a gastronomy masterclass,” Manyaya said.

“We also have a CEOs’ roundtable where we have several chief executive officers from African tourism and those within Zimbabwe coming to showcase and discuss issues to do with tourism because, as we know, tourism is an important pillar of the economy. It drives all the other sectors.”

Dr Manyaya said international participation was also gathering pace, with a delegation from Germany expected at the expo.

“In the next few weeks, we’ll be having another delegation of buyers from Germany who are coming for the Sanganai Expo,” he said.