The ManicaPost
Liberty Dube
Tourism Correspondent
THE 15th edition of the Sanganai/Hlanganani World Tourism Expo will be hosted virtually from October 27 to 29, the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority has announced.
This is the second year the business expo has been held virtually due to the Covid- 19 pandemic.
The expo has over the years been an ideal platform for tourism players and hoteliers from the Eastern Highlands and others worldwide to market their services and products .
The virtual system which was developed in-house by the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority has since undergone enhancements to include an ‘on-demand’ meeting requests platform, live HD video conferencing and a virtual auditorium for interactive webinar sessions as well as virtual exhibitor booths.
Zimbabwe Tourism Authority’s acting chief executive, Mr Givemore Chidzidzi said: “We have seen it prudent to enhance features of the platform so as to remain competitive and to keep abreast with international virtual platform. Furthermore, the platform has become more user friendly as participants can now schedule meetings using their respective time zones.”
Registration for exhibitors commences this week and the meetings diary will open in the first week of October.
This year’s edition will see a series of webinars being hosted and will touch on topical issues including the market perspective webinar session where agents from key source markets will share insights on the changing global trends due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Tourism players and hoteliers in Manicaland have been urged to be part of the expo.
Eastern Highlands Experience chairman, Mr William Chatigu, said it was a welcome move to hold the expo virtually because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This is the way to go. We have to go the digital way and we want to urge tourism players in the province to utilise the platform and remain visible by being part of the expo. We used to travel to Harare and Bulawayo in our numbers for the expo before the Covid-19 pandemic; so we will do the same virtually,” said Mr Chatigu who is also the owner of Kwayedza Lodge in Vumba.
