TENDAI BHEBE IN BULAWAYO
The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority CE, Winnie Muchanyuka, is upbeat about this year’s edition of the Sanganai/Hlanganani showcase scheduled for October 13 to 15, 2022 in Bulawayo.
At least 150 exhibitors have so far confirmed their participation at this year’s edition of the expo and ZTA expects “to reach that figure or surpass it”.
Muchanyuka said the expo was targeting 250 exhibitors. This will be the first expo that will be held physically since 2019 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We see that the numbers of international visitors coming to Zimbabwe are rising steadily. But what is more exciting for me is the contribution that domestic tourism has made to the industry and has really kept us afloat,” Muchanyuka said.
She said Air Zimbabwe has facilitated tickets for buyers to be able to go on these tours and be able to fly to Bulawayo for Sanganai/Hlanganani.
Muchanyuka said the Airports Company of Zimbabwe is one of the platinum sponsors for the expo.
ZTA head of corporate affairs, Godfrey Koti, said the tourism industry lost billions of dollars during the Covid-19 pandemic due to travel restrictions.
“In 2020/21 our quantified loss was around US$1.3bn in terms of potential revenue. We only made US$359m during that period.
“In terms of tourists receipts, in 2019 we had closed the year on 2.3 million receipts as far as tourists are concerned and in 2021 we received about 600 000 visitors only. So, we are definitely positioning Zimbabwe through the Sanganai/Hlanganani tourism expo,” Koti said.
