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Panashe Chikonyora
Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) is participating at Incentive Business Travel and Meetings (IBTM) World Exhibition, in Spain, to usher confidence into the market and help impede all negative perceptions about destination Zimbabwe, ZTA chief executive officer, Givemore Chidzidzi has said.

This comes three weeks after the inaugural 2019 Japan Tourism Expo, which saw the tourism authority targeting to reach out to marketing executives from Asia and the Pacific.

The exhibition which started on November 19 and ends today in Barcelona, Spain, was used to promote the country as a Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (Mice) destination, which ZTA believes will attract Mice industry professionals to focus on business opportunities, thought provoking professional Mice capacity building sessions and networking that enhance Convention Bureaus’ business development strategies.

As part of the country’s transition to normalcy, Mr Chidzidzi emphasised on the importance of the expo as an awakening call to the country’s theme “Open for Business”.

“Our main objective for participation is to generate new global Mice sales leads. We’re also using this year’s exhibition to re-engage and reconnect with the global Mice players.

He said the focus is to establish and develop quality Mice business for destination Zimbabwe. Mr Chidzidzi said they are committed and prepared to make the country the most preferred Mice destination in Southern Africa.

He said Zimbabwe will use the event to generate global sales leads, develop quality relationships through face to face interactions and gain invaluable exposure to the meetings and events industry thereby putting our brand miles ahead of the competition.

The expo which draws its participants from Destination Management Companies, Convention bureaus, Meeting Planners, Professional Conference Organisers and Incentive Travel Houses, who are all vital in the success and growth of Mice business is promising to the country’s significance to the European market.

This year’s IBTM World Exhibition is targeted at positioning the country as the first choice MICE destination.

Africa is fast establishing itself as the upcoming Mice destination as evidenced by the formation of National Convention Bureaus across Africa and their presence at international Mice shows, to position their respective countries as suitable for  hosting.

IBTM World is the leading global event for the meetings, incentives and business travel industry.