ZTA - SANGANAI/HLANGANANI 2012 HARARE CLEAN-UP CAMPAIGN

Hon. Eng Mzembi (Minister of Hospitality and Tourism Industry) flanked by ZTA C.E. Mr K.Kaseke, HAZ Administrator V. Rukande and ZCT ExecutiveDirector J. Muchemeyi at a Sanganai/Hlanganani Media Update Conference in Harare

The Sanganai/Hlanganani World Travel and Tourism Africa Fair 2012 is this year especially outstanding because of the introduction of new concepts to the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) owned annual tourism trade market.

For instance the business- to-business networking model implemented to ease the buyer-exhibitor interface is hoped to see actual trade deals being sealed during the course of the fair. The re-introduction of the ‘Tourism Night’ – a night of free entertainment and celebration for Zimbabweans and their visitors courtesy of ZTA was necessitated by public demand. Another new introduction is the Urban Footsteps Township Tourism Program that is based on the South African Township Tourism model in Soweto.

A street carnival that will be led by the Vice President Honourable Joice Mujuru will proceed from Mbare to Highfields where participants will get an opportunity to visit the some homes where the nationalist movement of Zimbabwe were born.

Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry – Honourable Walter Mzembi commended the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) for setting up an innovative Sanganai/Hlanganani 2012 and also for having already started to implement some aspects of the proposed National Tourism Policy that has already been presented to cabinet.

“I am glad to realise that the ZTA has already started implementing aspects of the National Tourism Policy through the introduction of Township Tourism. This facet of tourism has become a major diversification of tourism in destinations such as South Africa and surely one cannot be said to have visited South Africa without going through Soweto,” he said.

Hon. Eng Mzembi went on to elaborate on how Zimbabwe is missing out on the potential that tourism diversification in the country could hasten the growth of tourist arrivals to Zimbabwe.

He said, “We are used to tourism as just the wonderful sightings of animals and nature in destinations such as Victoria Falls, Hwange, Kariba and Nyanga but now, we have broken down tourism into its many various facets so that we can as a destination compete more aggressively against other international destinations in areas such as conferencing, culinary, cultural, fellowship, volunteer tourism.”

Mr. Karikoga Kaseke – Chief Executive of the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority highlighted to the media on the city clean-up campaign that the ZTA has partnered with the Environmental Management Authority (EMA), Environment Africa and The Harare City Council.

The clean-up campaign will see more than three thousand (3000) unemployed youths being employed to ensure that Harare is clean prior to and during Sanganai/Hlanganani World Travel and Tourism Africa Fair 2012. According to Mr. Kaseke, funds permitting, a further one thousand youths may be employed to clean up Mbare/Highfields during the same period.

“The clean-up campaign is part of the extension programs of Sanganai/Hlanganani World Travel and Tourism Africa Fair 2012. We want everyone to notice that something different is happening in town during the Sanganai/Hlanganani period. A cleaner destination is a more welcoming one,” he said.