eBusiness Weekly
Ishemunyoro Chingwere
African tourist destinations should champion an “Africa for Africa” strategy as a way of boosting continental visits, Ghanaian buyers who are in the country for this year’s edition of Sanganai/Hlanganani World Travel and Tourism Expo, have said.
This year’s edition of the Expo being held at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) grounds in Bulawayo ends on Saturday and comes at a time when arrivals are on the rise, thanks to the good will the country is enjoying on the back of President Mnangagwa’s rise to power.
Organisers of the Expo, the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA), confirmed participation of international buyers from Germany, France, Italy, the Benelux, as well as those from North America and Asia.
Speaking to the media at the Robert Mugabe International Airport on arrival this week, Ghanaian buyers whose delegation also included officials from that country’s Tourism Authority, Ghana Women in Tourism president who is also Zimbabwe Tourism Ambassador in West Africa Ms Nancy Sam, said Zimbabwe was an important player in African tourism that cannot be ignored.
She said the challenge, however, was the negative perception that most African tourists had on African destinations, hence the need to do more in terms of marketing.
Ms Sam said not much is known about Zimbabwean tourism in West Africa despite the country’s natural endowments.
It is against this background that she said her team was going to capitalise on Sanganai/Hlanganani World Travel and Tourism Expo to market destination Zimbabwe and demystify the negative perception.
“(We are here) because somebody must tell the story of Zimbabwe,” said Ms Sam.
“In the western parts of Africa, people have no clue of what is happening in Zimbabwe, the only thing they hear is the negative part.
“But we, coming all the way from West Africa (Ghana) being the getway to West Africa, whatever we are coming to do during the Sanganai posting (on) Facebook, Twitter (and) the media it is going to go all the way especially coming to promote the Victoria Falls and other unique tourism sites that you have that we don’t have in West Africa.
“West Africans we travel a lot, we going to Europe and America and we think that coming to this part of the world is what we are going to campaign for and so our presence here is to campaign “Africa for Africa” and to make sure that Zimbabwe will be the leading tourism site,” she said.
She said the good Zimbabwean story for her team started at the airport where it took them less than 10 minutes to go through immigration formalities a situation which she said is what tourists will be looking for where ever they visit.
“When we arrived, the fast track of immigration is super, it’s like we are in a first world country and that alone is the best thing for a tourist, to come to a country and within five to 10 minutes has gone through immigration is a plus for Zimbabwe,” she said.
The Ghanaian delegation also includes the country’s Tourism authority deputy Chief Executive Officer Mr Ekwo Sampson and this Ms Sam said, is a sign Ghana is taking the Sanganai/ Hlanganani World Travel and Tourism Expo very seriously.
