Zimbabwe: Travel Expo Roars Into Life
Source: AllAfrica.com ()
Zimbabwe's premier tourism showcase, the Zimbabwe International Travel Expo, roars into life today amid high expectations that it will afford exhibitors and buyers a chance to seal lucrative deals that can be used to market the country as a leading tourist destination.
Vice President Joice Mujuru - who is also the patron of the tourism industry - is expected to officially open the annual travel extravaganza. The four-day showcase has become a leading event on Zimbabwe's tourism calendar and the number of participants to the exhibitions have increased significantly from a modest 50 in 2002 to over 350 last year.
Over 600 participants are expected to attend this year's edition of Travel Expo at the Harare International Conference Centre. Last year, the Government gave the Travel Expo national event status to boost the tourism sector's participation in the economic recovery programme. Negative publicity, which Zimbabwe is receiving from the western media, has dented the tourism industry's prospects for growth.
However, showcase gives the country a platform to build confidence among tourism agents and media in different source markets. As usual, the two public days - Saturday and Sunday - are expected to attract more visitors to the expo.
Last year, more than 3 500 people attended the showcase. Workshops have been lined up to give exhibitors and buyers an opportunity to interact in constructive dialogue for the development and growth of the tourism sector. Meanwhile, 29 more buyers from Russia, Iran and Dubai arrived in Harare yesterday to participate in the expo. This brings to 668 the number of buyers expected to participate in this year's event. Russia head of delegation and Teamex tour operator general manager Ms Ekatarina Gerasimova said their delegation comprised representatives from top Russian tourism companies that were keen to promote Zimbabwean tourist resorts.
"We all have come to do business …