By Margaret Mvura

THE City of Kings and Queens is expected to host the next three editions of Sanganai/Hlanganani World Tourism Expo while the just-ended edition has been an eye-opener for both stakeholders and organisers.
The travel and tourism bonanza relocated to Bulawayo this year in a bid to breathe life into the tourism hub of the country.
After the inaugural Sanganai/Hlanganani Expo held in the second largest city in 2008, the fair had moved to Harare for the past years.
The expo, beyond doubt, is vital to the development of tourism.
Players in the industry have benefited from linkages arising from the expos.
However, this year the organisers, Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA), fell short as they did not put up the spectacular bonanza stakeholders have become accustomed to.
The road shows that were meant to publicise the tourism extravaganza only brought a handful of men, women and children to tour the various stands at the expo.
There was also poor publicity and late disbursement of funds from Government to support the fair.
Zimbabwe Tourism Authority’s chief executive officer Karikoga Kaseke said despite the challenges, the expo had somewhat served its purpose.
“We have been satisfied with how the 9th edition of Sanganai/Hlanganani World Tourism Expo was held with a high quality of business (deals) and exhibitions,” he said.
“Feedback from the private players shows (that) they are happy (that) they have clinched some deals while a substantial amount of business was generated.
“Industry is convinced that people were forcing things at the Rainbow Towers in Harare, hence Bulawayo will be home to the expo for the next three years.
“After three years we will review if the tourism economy has been revived because we must have a tourism business plan for this place.”
Air Namibia’s country manager, Forbes Zaranyika, said the atmosphere in Bulawayo was good in that it presented a new environment that inspired new ideas.
“It is good that Sanganai/Hlanganani came to Bulawayo because hosting it in Harare made many players succumb to the same crowd and same ideas for a long while,” said Zaranyika.
“Many times if you are headquartered in Harare, you would be forced to go back to the office to attend to some other business at the end of the day and not give due attention to the fair.
“Bringing the fair to Bulawayo has therefore been good.
“Being in Bulawayo has exposed us to different people and ideas and it would be ideal to have the expo being hosted in the different provinces.
“This will expose our products and services to as many people as possible because that is what tourism is about.”
Bulawayo exhibitors at this year’s expo were thrilled with the exposure they received.
Most of the exhibitors at Sanganai/Hlanganani for the first time were happy with the contacts they made.
M&M Joyous Events’ Samantha Makhiwa says the expo was an eye-opener.
“We have exhibited at various exhibitions like the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and Swaziland on a different platform when we showcased our traditional cuisine,” Makhiwa said.
“We have also exhibited at wedding expos and provided catering services for funerals and corporates.
“This expo, however, has given us an appreciation of the different fields exhibiting here and we are hoping to improve our ideas.
“We are looking forward to exhibiting at the next expo.”
Beautiful Bulawayo’s official, Shuna Herscoritz, said the coming of the expo to Bulawayo exposed the various tourist attractions the city has to offer.
“You are aware that Bulawayo used to be a much more visited town long ago,” said Herscoritz.
“It is the closest point to all the heritage sites in this country and has so much to offer in terms of tourist attractions and theatre.
“Sanganai’s coming to Bulawayo will hopefully make people see how much this place has to offer in that regard.
“It is also good for networking and publicity since there is a lot of bad publicity about our country.
“We have this opportunity to dispel that wrong publicity and show that Zimbabwe is indeed the safe destination it is.”
Amagugu International Heritage Centre’s research and information officer Lucia Mahlanza expressed satisfaction with the fair.
“We are happy to be here because we have seen and learnt so much,” she said.
“The Kenyan art, for example, is so unique.
“This has been a good platform for networking.”
Foreign journalists at Sanganai/Hlanganani said Zimbabwe’s image had been tarnished by the West.
Ronnie Goodman, a journalist with Niche Magazine in the US said Africans must tell their own stories.
“I don’t like people painting Africa as bad because that makes me feel bad as a black person,” he said.
“We have worked hard to build our countries and way of life, but we have been limited because the resources of developing countries have helped developed countries build their economies up to where they are.”
Zimbabwe has suffered immensely from negative publicity, especially after it embarked on the highly successful Land Reform Programme in 2000 that saw over 400 000 black households benefitting.
The country has re-branded from ‘Zimbabwe – Africa’s Paradise’ to ‘Zimbabwe – A World of Wonders’.
There were 236 exhibitors, 128 buyers and 33 international media representatives at this year’s Sanganai/Hlanganani Expo.