Tourism indaba for Victoria Falls

via Tourism indaba for Victoria Falls – Southern Eye by Richard Muponde 25 November 2013

THE TOURISM and Hospitality Industry minister Walter Mzembi will preside over a 200-member delegation of tourism players converging under the banner of the Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe for a three-day conference in Victoria Falls tomorrow, amid reports of a target of a 7% growth in tourism next year.

The conference will be held under the theme “People First” and is being held after Zimbabwe successfully held the United Nations World Tourism Organisations general assembly.

Zimbabwe and Zambia co-hosted the international tourism jamboree in August and the country received a confidence booster after it was declared a safe tourism destination. About 1 328 tourism players are registered in the country.

In an interview yesterday, the president of Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe Tich Hwingiri said the conference was being held after the country enjoyed a significant growth in tourism.

“The growth has been good and we are looking at bigger margin of 7% up to 10% growth in the coming year.

“The conference will see all tourism players coming together and deliberating on how we can further develop the industry and cater for clients and give them good value of their money,” he said.

The conference will start on Wednesday (tomorrow) and end on Friday. During this time we have also lined up social responsibility programmes in which we are going to donate goods to the underprivileged at the Victoria Falls Old People’s Home,” Hwingwiri said.

He said the conference would run concurrently with an exhibition by service providers in the tourism industry, followed by awards for individuals and organisations which excelled in tourism in the 2013 tourism calendar.