DESIGNED specifically to develop and promote tourism in the country, Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (Mice) tourism, is realising that goal with tourist arrivals increasing by more than 27 percent from August last year, according to tour operators in Victoria Falls. Mice refers to a particular type of tourism in which large groups planned usually well in advance are brought together for some particular purpose and it is known for its flawless planning and demanding clientele.
Mice events are normally arranged by specialised convention bureaus and the process of marketing and bidding is normally conducted well in advance of the actual event.
Hotels are one of the most important stakeholders in Mice industry as they provide venues for meetings as well as accommodation for the delegates.
In the country, the Elephant Hills resort located in the Victoria Falls has played host to major conferences that include the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) summit in 2013, Routes Africa and the Sadc Heads of State and Government Summit in 2014 due to its infrastructural advantage.
The Elephant Hills resort is nestled between an 18-hole golf course with a 72-stroke rating and a helipad run by Shearwater Adventures that offers helicopter rides over the Falls and game park. Delegates are treated to a view of the Zambezi river from the terraces and from some of the rooms, mist can be seen rising at the Victoria Falls.
In an interview and tour of the hotel, general manager Mr Trythings Mutyandasvika, said the hotel boasts of seven meeting facilities which are extensive with a high capacity and state-of-the-art equipment.
“Elephant Hills resort is the only hotel with the capacity to host large international conventions as our conferencing facilities can hold up to 1 080 delegates at a given moment,” said Mr Mutyandasvika.
The hotel’s meeting facilities include the Kalala, Kalundu, Matetsi, Kazuma, Pagota, Gwayi and Lukosi rooms which are Tonga and Nambya names of local chiefs and islands around the area. They can be arranged in different styles as per request to accommodate different numbers which include the banquet, theatre, classroom, U shape and cocktail styles.
Besides the meeting facilities, the hotel has four restaurants namely Samukele, Kasibi, Mapopoma terrace and the pool area and in total they can seat a maximum of 700 guests.
In terms of accommodation, the hotel which has 276 rooms is the second biggest hotel after the Kingdom Hotel that has 294 rooms. It boasts of 263 luxury rooms, 11 executive suites, a deluxe suite and a presidential suite.
“We have benefitted a lot from hosting conferences and meetings and these have significantly contributed to the revenue of the hotel and African Sun but Mice business in general is helping in the branding of our destination, employment creation and infrastructure development,” said Mr Mutyandasvika.
He said during the Comesa summit in 2009, the hotel had 1 000 delegates while during the UNWTO summit last year they had about 1 250 delegates. This year the facility was host to Routes Africa with 350 delegates, Sadc heads of state and government summit with 1 350 people as well as the Sadc regional lawyers conference with 250 delegates among other meetings. The hotel has also played host to incentive groups like the Spar worldwide group which had 200 people.
As a result of the influx of foreign delegates into the resort town, the Elephant Hills has restored its cultural village that offers a cultural night dinner and accommodates up to 300 people serving traditional and non traditional meals.
Other hotels in Victoria Falls have benefited from Mice business despite not being the official hosts of major conferences through the ripple effects or downstream benefits.
A’Zambezi River Lodge general manager, Mr Fungai Mutseyekwa, said the destination was benefiting from Mice events.
“You can definitely feel that there is something happening, we get a lot of delegates who prefer to stay with us and have also held receptions. There is a deliberate strategy to lure the incentive travel market into the country and this will be more feasible after the rehabilitation and expansion of the airport is complete next year,” said Mr Mutseyekwa.
Mr Mutseyekwa said the A’Zambezi was a boutique facility and they were working on tapping into the local market as domestic tourism should be the backbone of tourism.
“We have the capacity to handle the usual numbers although we are more of a leisure market,” he said.
He said there was growth in terms of business compared to last year and alluded to the fact that there was still room for more growth.
“People who come here for conferencing both international and locals, usually come back on holiday and we have experienced it. We need to be consistently busy as a destination and if we maintain this upward trajectory, this destination will become the hub that we envision it to be,” said Mr Mutseyekwa.
Victoria Falls Rainbow Hotel general manager, Mr Chris Svovah, said Mice tourism was an important concept worldwide as it generates about $270 billion globally.
Mr Svovah said holding of Mice events had helped and continued to help the destination through infrastructure development.
“There was a significant transformation of this town because of the UNWTO summit, more rooms were made available, road works were done and there was an improvement in service delivery. The Routes Africa summit also saw new airlines operating in the country and destination which is good because it helps by making the destination more accessible,” said Mr Svovah.
He said Mice business had created opportunities for tourism and hospitality sector players as more rooms were needed to accommodate delegates and bigger conference facilities.
“Looking at the trends, with time, we will be investing in bigger conference facilities. Through hosting international visitors, we have since established kraal dinners where we serve traditional foods, treat guests to traditional dances and display local curios thus also creating employment for locals,” said Mr Svovah.
Kingdom Hotel general manager, Mr Derrick Kung, whose hotel is the biggest in terms of accommodation, said the facility was strategically positioned in the heart of the resort town and the falls.
He said although the hotel did not have big conference rooms, they still got to house a number of delegates and play host to smaller conventions.
“There has been a significant increase in tourist arrivals and room occupancies have gone up as a result. Mice events are a deliberate strategy to boost tourism in the destination and we are seeing the effects of hosting major summits like the UNWTO, Sadc and Comesa as a destination,” said Mr Kung.
Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe (HAZ) Victoria Falls chairperson, Mr Jonathan Hudson, said Mice events had brought awareness to the destination and Zimbabwe.
He said the myth around the volatility of the country has been dispelled as the friendliness of the country has been seen by thousands of visitors.
“Mice tourism has brought benefits to the destination from activity providers to restaurant owners and taxi operators. Every business person in the town has managed to profit from the delegates we host as a destination as they stay longer on business.
I can, however, not be sure to attribute the recent increase in arrivals we have seen to previous events we have hosted but it is a possibility,” said Mr Hudson.
The tourism industry wants to capitalise on Mice business to grow the sector. Mice tourism rakes in three times more receipts than leisure tourism with knock-on effects on local hotels in terms of revenue generation.
Mice business has huge potential to sustain the country’s economy through revenue generation and employment creation while increasing destination awareness.
The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) last year established the National Convention Bureau to attract more Mice tourism. This year, the country has so far played host to the Sadc summit and two church conferences.
Zimbabwe’s tourism and hospitality industry has potential to generate over $100 million annually from its Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Events (Mice), visiting United Kingdom-based Mice expert and travel writer Martin Lewis said.
According to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) Mice tourism generates $23 billion regionally each year and is responsible for generating 45,8 percent of revenues in the hospitality industry.