THE capital will today be abuzz as the Sanganai/ Hlanganani – World Tourism Expo kicks off at the Harare International Conference Centre.
NewsDay Editorial
The three-day expo will be attended by buyers from different countries among them Hong Kong, Nigeria, Dubai, France, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates.
Five workshops will run concurrently with the expo as part of a rebranding exercise.
These include the Young Professional Forum, Greening the Economy, Marketing Zimbabwe in various source markets, Informational Communication Technology and social media as well as the Professional Conference Organisers workshop.
According to the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, between 150 and 200 buyers are expected to attend the expo, but many of them have cancelled their trip due to the Ebola scare.
Last month, 15 buyers from Botswana indicated they would not participate at the rebranded expo over Ebola fears.
Regrettably, this important event will be overshadowed by the Zanu PF internal fights which have been dominating the news for weeks now.
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Cabinet ministers and other senior government officials are unlikely to support this event. Most of them have virtually abandoned their offices to attend First Lady Grace Mugabe’s so-called Meet the People whirlwind rallies as they fall over each to bootlick her.
The visitors, who are visiting Zimbabwe for the first time, will find a nation divided as leaders publicly spew venom at each other on a daily basis instead of working for the development of the country.
It is sad that these public fights will not do much to clear the negative perceptions about Zimbabwe. There is no doubt that Sanganai/Hlanganani is a homegrown international tourism showcase which provides an opportunity for Zimbabwe to position itself as an international market.
Besides, tourism is one of the few sectors locally offering some glimmer of hope in this gloomy economic environment where firm closures and retrenchments have become the order of the day.
The Tourism and Hospitality Industry ministry believes the sector is on course to contribute 15 % towards gross domestic product (GDP) by 2015. Tourism minister Walter Mzembi’s target is for the sector to contribute $5 billion to GDP by 2018.
This exhibition is an opportunity to realise this dream.
The exposition is an opportunity to meet and network with exhibitors, visiting buyers, investors and suppliers of services to the tourism sector.
It is, therefore, important that captains of industry take advantage of the expo to foster regional partnerships that will positively position the country as a must-see destination.
The government must also play its part by investing in infrastructure to ensure that Zimbabwe becomes a preferred tourism destination.
There is also need to upgrade the pothole-ridden roads which are now making driving a nightmare.
Most importantly, Zanu PF has for long been an albatross around the necks of Zimbabweans, and there is need to shake it off sooner rather later.
