The 15th edition of the internationally acclaimed Sanganai/Hlanganani-World Tourism Expo will be hosted virtually from 27 – 29 October 2021. Zimbabwe was the first to host a Virtual Tourism Expo in Africa in 2020.
The Acting Chief Executive, Mr. Givemore Chidzidzi, said recruitment of exhibitors for this year’s edition has commenced and there is optimism that new exhibitors will participate at this year’s event.
“We switched to Virtual Expos last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic and saw the need to embrace the ‘New Normal’ as we could not continue to be absent in the various key source markets.”
He continued: “We did an online survey and most of our source markets preferred the virtual exhibition due to travel restrictions. Going forward due to the inoculation exercise underway we shall be hosting hybrid exhibitions. Our virtual system was developed in-house and has since undergone enhancements to include an ‘on-demand meeting requests platform.”
There will be Live HD video conferencing, a virtual auditorium for interactive webinar sessions and 3D virtual exhibitor booths.
The Sanganai /Hlanganani platform has become more user-friendly, and participants can now schedule meetings using their respective time zones.
Zimbabwe has remained connected to the market through various platforms and membership in international associations from key source markets such as Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA), African Travel & Tourism Association (ATTA) UK, Anerkannte Spezialisten fuer Afrika-Reisen (ASA) Germany hence the wider array of qualified buyers.
Through these partnerships, the destination has continued to receive much-needed exposure through engagements that have been facilitated by the associations. Sanganai/Hlanganani – World Tourism Expo has remained relevant during these trying times and this year’s edition is expected to supersede the success achieved during the 2020 virtual edition.
Schedule
Registration for Exhibitors opens on 15 September 2021.
Registration for Buyers opens on 23 September 2021.
Meetings diary will open on 1st October 2021.
There will be a series of webinars being hosted and these will touch on topical issues including the market perspective webinar where agents from key source markets will share insights on the changing global trends due to the effects of the pandemic.
Last Year’s Statistics indicate that over 190 exhibitors registered including 29 foreign exhibitors. Over 130 international buyers registered, over 2 500 one on one meetings facilitated
International Buyers: Countries that registered in 2020
● Australia
● Middle East
● China, Asia and Pacific
● Europe and Americas
● Southern Africa
We have taken into account the challenges that the industry has gone through during the past two years, and we shall be offering the exhibition platform for registered industry players free of charge. Only those who are interested in enhancing their exhibition through taking 2d and 3d booths will pay a nominal fee for the booths. We encourage the industry to make use of this opportunity and remain connected to the markets through this platform.
To register log onto: www.sanganaitourismexpo.com
