The Sunday News
THE Zimbabwe Tourism Authority has invited more international media practitioners especially from Europe for this year’s edition of the Sanganai/ Hlanganani travel and tourism fair as efforts to manage perceptions increase.
In an interview on Friday, ZTA head public relations manager Mr Sugar Chagonda said 28 of the 44 international journalists who would be attending the Sanganai/Hlanganani expo to be held from 18-20 June in Harare were from Europe.
Eleven are from other countries in Africa while five are from Asia.
“Europe is a big market and the challenges that we have of perceptions are mostly in the market hence by inviting media from there to experience Zimbabwe first hand will help in managing those perceptions as they will be writing from a well-informed point of view.
The international media will as per tradition, be taken on destination familiarisation trips to sample our products,” said Mr Chagonda.
Mr Chagonda said preparations for this year’s edition of the fair were on course with 20 international exhibitors from countries such as Namibia, Malawi, India, Botswana, Mauritius and Angola among others having confirmed their participation.
He said they were also expecting about 90 buyers.
“Exhibitors from different categories that include accommodation providers, tour operators, airlines, car rentals, tertiary institutions, tourist boards, embassies as well as publicity associations have already confirmed their participation and we are happy with the preparations so far,” Mr Chagonda said.
This year’s edition, which will be held under the theme: ‘‘Promoting peace through tourism’’, was moved from October as has been the case after exhibitors and buyers highlighted that the time in which Sanganai is held was not in sync with their planning cycle and suggested an earlier timing which will allow them to package Zimbabwe the following season.
“As ZTA, we were left with no option but to move Sanganai to the first half of the year as we are convinced that this is in the interest of the industry in our endeavour to attract quality buyers who will seriously do business with us,” Mr Chagonda said.
He said the move to host Sanganai in the first half of the year also follows a repositioning exercise of the fair as the tourism authority seeks to make it more productive and business focused.
“The exhibition was repositioned last year to give it a more serious business thrust with changes that included buyer-exhibitor selection criteria, downsizing of space occupied by exhibitors and the use of online meeting booking system for buyers and exhibitors.
We now emphasise on the quality of engagements,” he said.
