admin– except Zimbabwe – at the just-ended Indaba 2013.
Zimbabwe Tourism Authority chief executive Mr Karikoga Kaseke confirmed that the country continued to foot the exhibition bill on its own and was excluded from the EU subsidy enjoyed by the other countries housed in the Sadc Pavilion.
“As you can see, our stand is comparable or even better than other stands in this hall,” he said.
“All the exhibitors here have been funded by the EU. But we had to go it alone because we are under sanctions.
“As ZTA, that is what we stand for and even in the face of financial difficulties, we need people to understand that in terms of destination marketing, this is a good platform to achieve,” he said.
But Mr Kaseke would not state how much it cost the ZTA to host the Indaba exhibition or what the other regional countries obtained from the EU.
Efforts to get the details from the other countries were unsuccessful as some of the exhibitors said officials permitted to make statements to the Press were unavailable.
The ZTA boss also took issue with the South African Tourism Board for selectively hosting media and buyers from other countries, except Zimbabwe.
“In Sadc, Zimbabwe is by far the biggest source market for tourism for South Africa and I do not understand why they discriminate against us,” he said.
“If you look at the number of women who cross the border to come shopping in South Africa, then you will understand that no other country in Africa surpasses this type of tourism. Equally, South Africa is the biggest source market for Zimbabwe and we have a situation where output outstrips our input. And that is the reason why we believe that South Africa should re-establish the tourism office in Zimbabwe that they closed a few years ago. If you look at what’s happening at the Indaba, in the context that it is the largest in Africa, you also have to consider that Zimbabwe’s Sanganai/Hlanganani is the second largest in Sadc.”
Mr Kaseke said the South African government supported the Indaba to the tune of US$17 million, demonstrating its commitment to support the tourism industry, unlike the situation back home where the sector was struggling to get support for events such as Sanganai/Hlanganani. He said that the local tourism showcase had a US$500 000 budget which they had to struggle to get from Treasury. “Tourism across the continent is funded by governments,” he said.
“The concept is the same across the board and we should do the same. If we don’t obtain funding from the Government, how can tourism be one of the four pillars of economic growth?
“I hope that after the elections, there will be a change in the way we do things and Government takes full responsibility for tourism development.”
Online Reporter