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Sandra Maziwisa Business Reporter

Over 100 exhibitors and more than 60 buyers are taking part in this year’s edition of the Sanganai/Hlanganani World Tourism Expo, which started on Wednesday and ends today.

The of number of participants, though, has markedly decreased on account of the negative impact of the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic.

This was said by guest of honour and Acting Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry Jenfan Muswere during the official opening of the event.

This comes as Zimbabwe’s tourism industry has invested over US$100 million in sprucing up facilities ahead of post covid-19 recovery.

Statistics from the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority show that visitors to Zimbabwe plunged from 2,3 million in 2019 to 639 000 last year due to the impact of the pandemic.

However, Secretary for Tourism and Hospitality Industry Munesu Munodawafa said recently the country’s tourism industry was on rebound, with most hotels full until December 2021.

This year’s 14th edition of the tourism expo is being held virtually over three days permitting, industry professionals and international travel buyers to interact on the platform without the need to worry about physical barriers.

The focus has been to ensure that by 2025 Zimbabwe’s tourism industry would have grown to become a US5 billion dollar industry, Minister Muswere said.

He said Zimbabwe  prided itself as the safest tourism destination in the world with a great potential to surpass the 639 000 visitors who visited Zimbabwe in 2019.

“In 2021 we need to harness more numbers as we ensure that Zimbabwe is the preferred tourism destination. Government has also developed a raft of measures in terms of ICT infrastructure ensuring that everyone who visits any tourism destination will be connected.”

The Sanganai/Hlanganani World Tourism Expo will ensure tourism stakeholders with a platform to engage international and regional source markets.

“It’s a platform where exhibitors and buyers meet, a platform where buyers secure business packages from Zimbabwe and Africa.

It is a platform where the use of ICT is now the game changer and this year’s Conference is a hybrid conference where the use of ICT is the catalyst and is more than important,’’ said Minister Muswere.

“Zimbabwe has got a number of tourism destination sites across all provinces in the country, not only do we pride ourselves over flora and fauna we are also ensuring that the strict enforcement and adherence of World Health Organization Covid-19 protocols this plus other measures across all sectors of the economy will ensure that Zimbabwe becomes the number one tourism destination,” he said.

Sanganai/Hlanganani World Tourism Expo is an annual tourism trade fair organized by the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority.

It showcases the widest variety of Africa’s best tourism products and attracts international visitors and media from across the world.

The past editions of the expo have been a resounding success and attracted the leading African destinations  and major world tourism markets namely South Africa, Botswana, Malaysia, China, Zambia, Malawi, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Indonesia, India and Italy among others.