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As preparations for the 15th Edition of the Sanganai Hlanganani World Tourism Expo hit pitch fever, the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) is delighted with the interest in Destination Zimbabwe by the Japanese market at the Tourism Japan Expo in Tokyo.
ZTA’s Marketing Manager responsible for Asia and the Pacific markets, Eniel Senderayi says the inquiries and interest is impressive and emphasised the need to generally increase marketing efforts.
“Tourism Expo Japan offered Destination Zimbabwe the opportunity to gather qualified leads, network as well as witness the latest developments and trends within the travel and tourism industry,” said Senderayi.
“As an industry worst affected by the Covid 19 pandemic, engagements such as these reinforce our Tourism and Recovery Strategy as we continuously aim to place Zimbabwe back on the tourism map,” he added.
The fair which had two general public days in the past three days brought massive activity onto the Zimbabwe exhibition stand as tour operators, academics and the wider populace took interest in knowing more about the destination.
Senderayi also added that inquiries were mainly about connectivity, major attractions, language, Culinary, and the safety and security of Zimbabwe as a tourist destination.
A broadcast journalist from a local publication, Voice Japan; Makoto Kawamura, who has visited Zimbabwe several times expressed excitement to see Zimbabwe participating and he reminisced on his experiences in Zimbabwe.
“What really blew me up in Zimbabwe is its people. I was very impressed with attractions such as Victoria Falls, Great Zimbabwe, and Hwange National Park. Zimbabwe has so many places to visit but what surprised me is how good Zimbabwean people are, they were so polite and generally happy to host visitors,” he said.
The pristine wildlife and nature; the wonderful people and the culture proved to be the highlights topping the list of most visitors’ beautiful memories with the hope of returning to the World of Wonders again.
Meanwhile, the rebranded Tourism Expo Japan, officially opened with its Organizing Committee Chairperson stipulating processes underway regarding the ease of travel post-Covid 19 to enable domestic and international travel. Kenichiro Yamanishi expressed his optimism about tourism recovery post-pandemic.
“The developments are in motion to revive both inbound and outbound tourism demand in Japan,” he said.
“The tourism expo provides a chance for the tourism industry to regain its vitality,” Yamanishi added.
The opening day saw the convergence of the fifth Ministerial Roundtable themed, ‘Tackling Climate Change in Tourism’.
Major highlights were the importance of forging global collaboration to advance climate actions in Tourism and finding solutions to co-exist in the post-pandemic world.
One of the key outcomes of the roundtable discussion was the need to establish a Global Tourism Resilience Fund to tackle possible disruptions in Tourism.
Four major tourism organisations including the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), and the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) provided Policy recommendations during the discussions.