The Sunday News
THE ongoing Harare International Carnival is set to bring immense benefits to all sectors of the economy especially the hospitality industry as a lot of people were expected to be in the capital during the 10-day event.
Zimbabwe Tourism Authority chief executive, Mr Karikoga Kaseke said the carnival was growing in leaps and bounds and a lot of people from various cities as well as international delegates were in Harare and would require among other things, accommodation and food.
“The carnival is one of the tools to improve the economy right now and I can confirm over 600 international guests are attending. Businesses will accrue a lot of opportunities as we thrive to achieve 100 percent gross national happiness for all Zimbabweans,” said Mr Kaseke.
Mr Kaseke said in other countries where carnivals were now developed, carnival costume makers were now a sub-industry on their own and this was most likely to be the case in Zimbabwe in the future.
He said those who would be selling their wares in the streets during the event were also set to benefit immensely from the large numbers.
Speaking on the concern whether 10 days was not too long to hold the carnival, Mr Kaseke said Zimbabwe was still trying to develop this product and said the days were sufficient in achieving the goals set by the ZTA.
“Other countries for instance, Brazil, take a whole month and in Nigeria, Cross River, they have a carnival that runs from 1 December to 31 December which is also a whole month hence for us 10 days is not too much,” he said.
Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe (HAZ) president, Mr Tamuka Macheka said the carnival would benefit the tourism and hospitality industry as it provided a huge marketing platform with more than 20 countries attending the event.
He said the carnival was also timely, coming on the heels of the country being awarded the World Best Destination for 2014 and Favourite Cultural Destination for 2014 by the European Council on Tourism and Trade.
“The carnival is a marketing tool for the whole country that will help position us in the minds of both current and potential markets. It is crucial for the media to project the whole event in the positive as the eyes of the international community are on Zimbabwe,” said Mr Macheka.
Mr Macheka said the carnival was also a platform where cultural experiences were shared and it would expose the whole destination to the world.
Besides the carnival being a marketing tool, Mr Macheka said the hospitality industry would benefit during the holding of the carnival.
“This event will bring us the perception shift that we are looking for and it will be good for the whole economy when people see that Zimbabwe is an attractive and safe destination that they can visit and invest in,” he said.
The carnival started on Friday last week and will end on Sunday.
The ZTA urged all Zimbabweans to have a shared vision for a carnival economy with all sectors coming on board, as this was not an event for the tourism sector only but for everyone as businesses would also benefit a lot from the influx of visitors.
