By Derick Tsimba
Zimbabwe tourism hospitality delegation has joined the rest of the world in exhibiting at this year’s edition of the international tourism bourse-Berlin Germany (ITB-Berlin) where they are seeking to increase tourism traffic from the German market, Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) has said.
In its press statement, ZTA has said the Zimbabwean delegation which was being led by the Minister of Environment, Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Priscah Mupfumira comprises of 28 local tourism industry players. ITB-Berlin is running from the 6th to the 10th of March 2019 in Germany and is an opportunity for Zimbabwe tourism players to increase tourist visits to Zimbabwe.
“Zimbabwean tourism authorities are reviving efforts to strengthen tourism traffic from the German market as the nation participates at the 2019 ITB-Berlin Germany which officially kicked off on 06 to 10 March 2019.
“The Zimbabwean delegation led by Minister Mupfumira comprises of 28 local tourism industry players, the delegation has made an improvement from last year’s 15 local tourism industry exhibitors,” said ZTA.
The outbound tourism from Europe has generated almost half of the world’s international arrivals. The opportunity still remains for Zimbabwe to aggressively profile its tourism potential in this region, particularly in Germany said Minister Mupfumira.
“ITB- Berlin remains one of Zimbabwe’s key source markets ranked 3rd in overseas arrivals after the United States of America and the United Kingdom, contributing 37,304 arrivals last year.
“This is a clear indication of the significance of this market to Zimbabwe’s tourism economy, hence the need for intensified investment in destination promotion,” said Minister Mupfumira.
Tourism Business Council of Zimbabwe, Chief Executive Officer, Mr Paul Matamisa said the ITB-Berlin opened a window for business connections and networking for the country’s tourism industry players which could be translated into tangible business deals within the next two to three years.
“ITB is a must attend show for the tourism industry by virtue of its magnitude, it is by and large the leading travel trade show in the world, so Zimbabwe stands to benefit immensely from networking with seasoned travel professionals to give them an appreciation of Zimbabwe’s tourism offering and include it in their packages,” said Matamisa.
Harare Post is aware that some of the local exhibitors participating at ITB-Berlin are Cresta Hotels (Pvt) Ltd, Amalinda Safari Collection, Wild Horizons and African Sun Hotels. ITB-Berlin is the leading and a must attend global meeting platform which attracts 187 countries, 1 000 qualified top buyers, 10 000 exhibitors, 120 000 trade visitors, 26 000 convention visitors and more than 160 000 private and public visitors alike.
