The Sunday News
Roberta Katunga, Senior Business Reporter
THE Sanganai/Hlanganani world tourism expo to be held in Bulawayo in June is set to boost the city’s business profile by highlighting how accessible Bulawayo is to potential investment, an official has said.
In December last year, the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair Company paving way for the return of Sanganai/ Hlanganani expo in Bulawayo.
Bulawayo last hosted the first edition of the fair then known as Shanyai/ Vakatshani eight years ago.
ZITF general manager Mrs Nomathemba Ndlovu said the exhibition was returning to Bulawayo at an opportune time when the city was working hard at branding itself as a prime investment destination.
Mrs Ndlovu said ZITF was more than ready to host the fair.
“In fact we envision that it will be much better because, between then and now, we have invested in a number of initiatives to improve our facilities, for example new stand building material, installing Wi-Fi in our halls and improved landscaping.
“No other venue in Zimbabwe matches the Zimbabwe International Exhibition Centre (ZIEC) in size and functionality. The ZIEC is a versatile venue with facilities that boast six fully-equipped and serviced exhibition halls, hundreds of individual pavilions and open-air sites as well as an Olympic size grass arena,” said Mrs Ndlovu adding that ZIEC was also flexible enough to allow controlled or general access to any of its facilities.
Speaking on the benefits to Bulawayo, Mrs Ndlovu said Sanganai/Hlanganani would help boost both business and leisure tourism in the city as well as provide spin-off benefits.
“There will be a lot of job opportunities generated by the fair as well as revenue generated by service providers during the show that include stand building, transport, tourism, retail, and hospitality, revenue to the city among other benefits,” she said.
The fair which will be hosted about two months after the country’s biggest trade exhibition will ensure that Bulawayo’s generally quiet state is hyped with the ZITF company saying that the city has the capacity to host Sanganai/Hlanganani and subsequent editions of the show.
The ZTA is on record saying that the fair was moved to Harare after an impasse on costs with the ZITF as the venue was overpriced at that time.
However, Mrs Ndlovu said each event that they have hosted has served to sharpen their organisational skills through different project scopes and interaction with diverse audiences.
“As a learning-orientated organisation we expect that there will be a number of development and growth opportunities for the ZITF Company that will come with the return of Sanganai/Hlanganani to Bulawayo and we look forward to them,” she said.
ZTA chief executive Mr Karikoga Kaseke said the tourism body had been working with the ZITF Company to clarify on the roles of both parties so that there would be no conflict of ideas.
The return of the world acclaimed tourism expo to Bulawayo was driven by a Government directive to migrate the event to a place with adequate facilities.
