Chronicle Editor
Innocent Kurira, Sports Reporter
VARIOUS players in the sporting sector attended the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) organised Sports Tourism Conference which was held concurrently with the just ended Sangani/Hlanganani World Tourism Expo at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair.
Among those in attendance were representatives from sports codes such as football, boxing, rugby and cricket.
Dubbed the ‘Africa Sports Legacy Conference’, the forum was aimed at unpacking the ‘Business of Sports Tourism for the socio-economic development of Zimbabwe’ and was held in partnership with UK-based sports organisation, Africa Sports Legacy (ASL).
ASL founder and world athletics elite coach, Stanley “Fresh” Madiri delivered the keynote address.
“Africa sports legacy is an entity that is exactly about sports management. We sit in the space between sports and tourism. Ours is identifying and knowing the power that lies in the business of sport while also appreciating the tourist attraction that our natural resources in Africa give us.
“What we realise is there is not so much commercial return from our natural resources. If we bring in a sport event for whatever sport code we should be able to give our visitors the Zimbabwe experience and its resources. To do that, we have to collapse the gap between tourism and sport,” said Madiri.
Other speakers were Naledi Khabo, the chief executive officer of Africa Tourism Association (ATA), Winny Tubby, a lecturer at Technical University of Kenya and Jason Maritz co-founder of Blue Thunder rugby franchise as well as Zimbabwe Cricket board chairman Tavengwa Mukuhlani.
The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority and the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee have already partnered ASL to promote sports tourism in this country going forward.
Sport tourism is a fairly new concept in Africa but is fast becoming a sought after socio-economic activity as people travel to watch various sporting disciplines around the world.
Sports events that have boosted tourism globally include the football World Cup, Olympics and other international competitions.
Having noted the potential of sports in the promotion of tourism, ZTA has been researching on how best it can sell the idea to all sport codes.
ATA was a key player in the support and activation of NBA Africa.
— @innocentskizoe
Online Reporter