Online Reporter
Michael Tome
Business Reporter
THE Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe (HAZ) has proposed a National Tourism Readiness Taskforce to coordinate investment, financing and infrastructure readiness, as Zimbabwe accelerates preparations to host the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) in Harare in 2029.
IATF is the continent’s premier trade and investment marketplace co-convened biennially by Afreximbank, the African union and the AfCFTA Secretariat to connect businesses, investors and governments, unlock trade opportunities and accelerate economic integration across Africa.
Zimbabwe secured the permanent hosting rights and headquarters for the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) during the fair’s 2025 edition in Algiers, Algeria, with the inaugural full-scale event taking place in Harare in 2029.
IATF aims to tap into opportunities from AfCFTA’s single market of over 1.4 billion people and gross domestic product of over US$3.5 trillion. Attended by more than 112 000 visitors from 132 countries, IATF2025, which took place from 4 to 10 September, ended on a remarkably high note with US$48.3 billion in trade and investment deals signed over the seven days of the continental exposition.
It welcomed 2 148 exhibitors.
The continental showcase will run annually in Zimbabwe from 2029 to 2033.The transformation of IATF into an independent and permanent institution is aimed at making the fair sustainable, scalable and deeply aligned to the vision of the AfCFTA.
To host the event, Zimbabwe has been mandated to put in place specified hotel and conferencing infrastructure sufficient within a 40-kilometre radius of Harare.
Zimbabwe expects to reap massive economic, infrastructural and investment benefits by hosting the permanent headquarters of the Intra-African Trade Fair Company (IATFCO) and the 2029 IATF showcase.
Tourism is a strategically key sector for Zimbabwe, contributing about 10 percent to the country’s domestic product (GDP), having accounted for as much as 15 percent in some recent evaluations.
HAZ president Mrs Emmah Kativhu told a media briefing yesterday that the proposed multi-stakeholder taskforce would bring together key stakeholders, including HAZ, the Bankers Association of Zimbabwe (BAZ), the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA), the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry, pension funds, development partners and technical experts to oversee the preparations to ensure the sector’s readiness.
