Zim to rejoin ICCA

Kumbirai Tarusarira
THE Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) intends to partner in capacity building and marketing programmes through re-joining the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) after a two-year absence.

This was revealed at the recently held Institute of Business Travel Management (IBTM) World in Barcelona, Spain.

The re-engagement has been a long awaited move that is anticipated to play an essential role in attracting new conferences and conventions to Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe’s participation at the IBTM world presented an opportunity for training in use of the ICCA database which is capable of maximising benefits that can result in securing conference leads, access to research and marketing tools as well as networking with other members of the association.

In a statement ZTA’s acting director of the National Convention Bureau Ms Pauline Ndlovu said, “It is indeed a pleasure to have re-joined ICCA and we look forward to partnering them in capacity building programmes and marketing activities.”

The ICCA African Chapter regional director, Esmare Steinhofel, also shared her excitement on the reinstatement of Zimbabwe at the recently held IBTM World.

She added that, ICCA is ready to conduct MICE capacity building workshops together with the Zimbabwe National Convention Bureau to give the industry a boost towards knowledge of the sector.

Other African countries also expressed great joy in having Zimbabwe back on board saying the African Chapter will be stronger with more members.

“We are looking forward to having Zimbabwe take part in the upcoming 2020 ICCA events in South Africa, Innsbruck and China,” said Lindiwe Rakharebe, Chairperson of the Durban International Convention Centre who are also African Chapter member.

The association’s meeting industry is one of the fastest growing sectors in tourism and contributing millions of dollars to the global economy.

IBTM remains one of the top events to gain visibility to new destination seekers and decision makers in the business tourism industry. This year’s edition of IBTM focused on technology and sustainability in tourism and how players can maximize on the use of upcoming technologies to make their business events stand out.

Tourism is one of the key pillars on which Government seeks to revive the economy after years of down turn.