adminZimbabwe will soon be in international focus as the United Nations World Tourism Organisation holds its annual meeting in Victoria Falls in 2013, when the prestigious and well-attended event will be shared between Zimbabwe and Zambia.
The congress will examine a range of key issues but will focus on how the country can make itself ready for the UNWTO meeting and how it can extract maximum long-term benefit from the meeting.
This will be the first time the annual HAZ congress will be held in the Midlands capital, which is not usually considered a tourism centre but which is an attractive conference venue and has a number of visitor attractions.
The hosts hope that the city and environs will benefits not only from the congress but from positive word of mouth promotion that delegates can give after visiting the city for the event.
Congress will take place from October 3 to 5 and speakers lined up include Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Walter Mzembi, HAZ president Mr Tichaona Hwingwiri, African Sun chief executive Dr Shingi Munyeza, Zimhost programme director Ms Charlene McCulloch, and ZNCC economist Mr Kipson Gundani.
At the congress, the annual general meetings of HAZ and the Catering Employers’ Association of Zimbabwe will be held, and the annual HAZ Awards dinner will be convened, at which people who have made a difference to travel, tourism and hospitality will be recognised by a number of trophies.
“The congress is open at anyone involved or interested in tourism and is not restricted to members of HAZ, although members received special discounted prices for registration,” said Ms Violet Rukande, HAZ administrator.
The annual HAZ Hospitality Fair will be run concurrently with congress, providing a platform for suppliers of goods and services to the hospitality industry to have one-on-one interaction with delegates and other visitors.
Online Reporter