Rebranded Hlanganani expo kicks off

Oliver Kazunga in Harare
THE 2014 edition of the Sanganai/Hlanganani World Tourism Expo begins here today with higher expectations after being repositioned to promote growth and development as well as enhance value for participants.
The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA), the organisers of the event, have said the expo has been rebranded to facilitate advance bookings for face-to-face interactions with visiting buyers and pre-scheduled meetings for business interactions only.

According to ZTA, the programme ends on Saturday with major highlights including workshops on information communication technology, young professionals’ forum, green tourism, chief executives and buyers’ meeting.

By yesterday morning, 15 buyers had already arrived in the country from the 80 expected at this year’s expo, which is in its 7th year running.

ZTA has said the past six editions of Sanganai/Hlanganani were a resounding success, having attracted leading African destinations and major world tourism markets such as South Africa, Botswana, Malaysia, China, Zambia, Malawi, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Indonesia, India, Italy and many others.

“The editions have seen the whole world converging in Zimbabwe in the form of high calibre international buyers as well as exhibitors. The 2014 edition is expected to ride on the successes of the previous editions and is an opportunity not to be missed,” said ZTA.

This year’s expo focuses on quality and not quantity, the tourism authority said.

The buyers are from countries such as Hong Kong, Nigeria, Dubai, France, the United Kingdom and United Arab Emirates.