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ZIMBABWE is participating at the Italian and one of Europe’s leading travel shows, the International Tourism Exchange (BIT), which is underway in Milan.
The country is represented at the fair by the Deputy Minister of Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Barbara Rwodzi, who is accompanied by the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) chief operations officer, Mr Givemore Chidzidzi, and principal tourism officer in the ministry, Mr Milton Kupenya.
The exhibition began on Sunday and is being held at the Fiera Milano Exhibition Centre in Milan and draws participation from travel agencies, tour operators, and tourist boards among other stakeholders to exchange experiences and shape the face of travel for the upcoming year.
It targets the behaviour of tourists and travelers in today’s economic and social climate. Italy is one of the critical source markets for destination Zimbabwe as it features among the top 20 generating countries in the world.
During the pre-pandemic period (2015-2019), arrivals to Zimbabwe from the Italian market registered a growth from 9 042 in 2015 to 14 541 in 2019, official Government records show.
However, the devastating effect of Covid-19 saw the figure decline to an all-time low of 406 in 2021.
In the post-pandemic period, arrivals from Italy registered a positive growth of 1 579 percent as the country received 6 411 tourist arrivals in 2022, compared to 406 tourist arrivals in 2021. This makes Italy the fastest recovering market for Zimbabwe, says the ministry.
Speaking during a Ministerial Roundtable under the theme, “Tourism, People and Territories, 2030 and Beyond, the Tourism and Sustainable Development Goals”, Deputy Minister Rwodzi said in support of SDG5 (gender empowerment through tourism), in 2021, Zimbabwe introduced the African Traditional Cuisine (cook-out) initiative spearheaded by the First Lady, Amai Auxilia Mnangagwa.
She said the programme has created an opportunity for women to showcase indigenous and nutritious foods, whilst participating in mainstreaming tourism activities. Zimbabwe is now promoting this noble initiative across the region, SADC starting this year, 2023.
The show was officially opened by the Italian Minister of Tourism, Honorable Daniela Santanchè, at a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by hundreds of delegates from different subsectors of tourism and the media to mark the first time the show is being held face-to-face after the two-year Covid-19 occasioned break.
BIT International Tourism Exchange offers both business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) networking opportunities targeting Italian leading travel trade and consumer outbound travel operators.
In addition to confirming itself as the world’s first marketplace for Italian products, BIT 2023 has brought together a wide representation of supply chains under one roof, including global tourism ministries, national tourism organisations, private sector operators, tourism buyers, and consumers.
The first day of the show was open to the general traveling public while the next two days are reserved for trade and professional visitors only.
Deputy Minister Rwodzi also articulated how the Government has taken a keen interest to develop Community-Based Tourism (CBTE) Projects as a vehicle to alleviate poverty in rural and marginalised communities in line with SDG 1 on ending poverty. This comes as the Government has packaged communities through their history, tradition, daily life, arts and craft, flora, and fauna, as unique selling points in communities.
The CBTEs model essentially presents opportunities to enhance national tourism competitiveness, alleviation of poverty, environmental conservation, and the preservation of local culture and heritage.
derick.khumalo