Zim at Asia’s biggest travel show

establishing high-quality customer contacts. This is the fifth time that Zimbabwe is participating since ITB’s inception in 2008.
The travel and tourism exposition has this year attracted 7 511 delegates, 750 exhibitor organisations and 600 top-quality hosted buyers.
Zimbabwe’s competitors such as South Africa, Botswana, Kenya, Tanzania, Egypt and Seychelles have been participating at ITB over the years signifying the potential this market has for this country as a destination.
ZTA head of communication and corporate affairs Mr Sugar Chagonda said Zimbabwe had successfully been marketing its tourist attractions in Asia resulting in a vast increase in tourist arrivals from that market.
“ITB Asia is a three-day business-to-business trade show and convention that is held annually
“According to our statistics, we recorded an annual increase of 80 percent for the period 2010 to 2011, respectively, which is a clear sign that this market is responding positively hence the need for us to continuously promote our destination through platforms of this nature. ZTA is leading a delegation composed of tourism industry players for this year’s edition of ITB Asia. This is an opportunity for us to meet and engage with the leading travel companies and international exhibitors of all sectors of the travel-value chain,’’ said Mr Chagonda.
This year marks the fifth edition of the fair and it will take place at the Marina Bay Sands. It is a renowned fair which attracts serious business people from all over the world to gather under one roof for their pre-arranged meetings with the aim of generating business across the world. ITB Asia is organised by Messe Berlin (Singapore) (Pvt) Ltd and supported by the Singapore Exhibition and Convention Bureau.
Mr Chagonda said the delegation that left Harare on Sunday will create brand awareness for “Zimbabwe — A World of Wonders” in the market, strengthen relations and get feedback. “They are also expected to develop, establish and nurture business with travel trade, media and consumers through existing suppliers to Zimbabwe,’’ he said.