A match made in tourism heaven…Bulawayo events take a bite of Sanganai/Hlanganani pie

Bruce Ndlovu, Sunday Life Reporter 

EVERY year, some of the brightest minds in the world of tourism gather for the Sanganai/Hlanganani World Tourism Expo in Bulawayo. 

Bringing together many nationalities in their diversity, the expo is an unparalleled melting pot of culture, as every exhibitor takes the opportunity to show why tourists should visit any treasured corner of their country. 

Every country has its beauty spots but it is the job of the tourism experts, to convince everyone around the world to leave their homes, part with their hard-earned cash and visit far-flung destinations across the globe. 

Tourism is, after all, big business. In Zimbabwe, for example, the industry brought in revenue of $1 billion in 2023 alone. 

After three days of crunching such numbers, attendees and delegates will no doubt need to relax and unwind. Perhaps as they do so, they might decide to take in some of the beautiful sights and sounds of their host city. 

While in the party some delegates might have found themselves twiddling their thumbs as they wondered what to do with the rest of their time. This will not be the case this year, as Bulawayo’s major event planners have aligned their calendars with the expo. 

This year, the expo has partnered with Munch and Sip, arguably the biggest event on Bulawayo’s lifestyle calendar. 

In a year, during which the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) has put its shoulder to the wheel, promoting the country’s gastronomy economy, the event is set to be a well-thought detour for those who want to leave Bulawayo with a taste of Bulawayo.

 

To showcase the importance of this, Munch and Sip has set a stage for two of Zimbabwe’s culinary experts, Bulawayo-based chef, Sindiso Ncube and Carl Joshua Ncube, who will provide delectable entertainment for revellers. 

As the Harry Allen Golf Club reverberates with the sounds of Amapiano, food lovers will be chewing away on the Munch Time stage. Those who feel that they have had enough will be able to wash down the exertions of the previous day at the Matobo Gin Fest, where craft beverages will take centre stage. 

All in all, it promises to be a blockbuster weekend to wrap up what would no doubt be a busy weekend in Bulawayo. 

However, the alignment of events is not by chance, as the city’s events practitioners have seen an opportunity to align Bulawayo’s historical heritage and tourism potential with the country’s tourism drive. 

“It’s a nice thing for tourism authorities to align themselves with local events,” said Bhekimpilo Ncube, one of the organisers of the Matobo Gin Festival. 

“I think we love being on their radar and consequently being part of their calendar and mandate as well. For example, the Matobo Gin Fest is held at a tourist destination and that is something in line with their mandate as a tourism authority. They have a push on gastronomy tourism and it aligns with Munch and Sip. So, it would be nice to be stakeholders going forward so that we add to the Sanganai/Hlanganani brand as a whole.” 

Ncube said there was hope that this year’s events would not be a one-off, but instead would lead to more partnerships with those tasked with selling some of the country’s most sought-after destinations. 

“Walking the talk is all about going to Matobo and seeing the relationships that we have built. It is about Munch and Sip and being in the close of gastronomy tourism. We believe that we are bringing a fresh perspective and lessening the workload because they don’t have to plan everything on their own because we have events lined up that tap into their mandate,” he said. 

Dalubuhle Sibanda of Umahlekisa Entertainment said that like their counterparts, they were also trying to leverage tourism for some of their events. Earlier this year, the group held a comedy special at the Khami Ruins. 

“When it comes to comedy tourism, it was something that we decided to pursue just purely because a lot of us have different strengths because of what we studied in tertiary education. For example, I have a background in the environment, so tourism is a passion of mine and so, I realised that a lot of people had not visited much of Bulawayo. So, the idea was that instead of people just drinking in the CBD, let us encourage them to get outdoors more and see more of the countryside. We needed an excuse to get people out and comedy provided a good platform to do that,” he said. 

Sibanda said Covid-19 had taught arts practitioners in the city the need to take their events as opportunities to further the country’s tourism agenda. 

“That wasn’t our first rodeo. The first one was at Silwane where we did a tour of the place and then a comedy show by the fireside. The events that were held were during the Covid-19 period and we did that because during that time those were the only events that were allowed. We needed to be entrepreneurial and innovative by mixing entertainment and tourism. This is an idea that we had always had so that gave us a perfect opportunity to try this out. So, when we came to Khami, it was just a continuation of the same concept,” he said. 

Sibanda said the future growth of the city’s arts and entertainment scene was tied to the fortunes of its tourism sector. 

“It’s one thing that we are eager to do and we have always been eager to combine with our local authorities to highlight our tourist destinations. This is one sphere that people have not taken seriously in terms of collaboration and I hope that it is one hurdle that we will soon jump over. We need those enabling collaborations and a lot of us need to grow up to cultivate those partnerships. Comedy is a big industry, it influences a lot of people and makes issues very easy to digest. Through humour, you can do a lot culturally and I think that when it comes to the promotion of tourism, this is a weapon that we have underutilised. So, in the future, we will also continue on this path because we believe there’s a lot that our people can gain from partnerships between local event organisers and tourism authorities,” he said.