Zimbabwe tourism takes aim at Japanese market

Zimbabwe tourism takes aim at Japanese market

Hosia Mviringi

Zimbabwe is taking part at this year’s Tourism Expo Japan, a premium tourism exhibition where markets meet buyers from across the global markets.

The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority is exhibiting at the expo, with the major aim to expand and grow the Japanese market and increase arrival from that country’s lucrative source market.

The Tourism Expo Japan which is jointly organized by the Japan Travel and Tourism Association (JTTA), Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA), and Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO), is a prestigious event which attracts the attendance of key players in the travel and tourism sector globally.

Speaking to this writer from Japan, Zimbabwe Tourism Authority Chief Executive Ms Winnie Muchanyuka confirmed Zimbabwe’s participation at this year’s Japanese premier tourism expo.

“There is need to intensify our marketing efforts through active participation at Firs such as these as they generate travel interest for our destination thereby regaining the market share that was lost during the Covid-19 period,” said Ms Muchanyuka.

The Expo, which runs under the theme, “Taking on the new Era”, presents Zimbabwe with a unique opportunity to reactivate tourism and entrench destination Zimbabwe as an enduring brand among buyers and travelers.

The presence of the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority at this year’s symposium is expected to create demand for Zimbabwe’s tourism product as the world reopens to the travel industry.

The travel and tourism industry suffered from prolonged closure of travel and recreation facilities worldwide following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2019. The sector had to be closed for a subsequent two year period, a period during which a lot happened that included mass closure of businesses in the sector, retrenchments and disruptions of supply chains.

As such it is critical that a lot of marketing initiatives be undertaken with the aim of rebuilding capacities in areas such as recruitment and training, facility management.

In 2018 Zimbabwe received a total of 34 240 tourists from the Japanese market, representing great potential for the expansion of that particular market. The tourism expo Japan is one of the leading shows on the Asian travel calendar that is ideal for both B2B and B2C business networking opportunities targeting Asia’s leading travel, trade, and consumer outbound travel operators.

The last edition of the Fair which was held in 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic struck attracted 1500 companies from over 100 countries and a total of 250 000 visitors from all over the world. A total of 12 countries from Southern Africa are exhibiting at this year’s Fair under the SADC banner and these include Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Lesotho, South Africa, Malawi, Botswana, Swaziland, Namibia, Mauritius, Angola and Tanzania.

Zimbabwe announced its presence at the Fair with a bang, banking on the popularity of its natural endowments that include but not limited to the Victoria Falls, Hwange National Park, the scenic Inyangani Mountains, Gonarezhou Transfrontier Park and the exhilarating man made monuments such as the Great Zimbabwe, Khami Ruins and many others scattered across the Zimbabwean landscape.

Tourism is one of the key pillars of the country’s economic development program under the National Strategic Development Strategy Phase 1 (NDS1) blueprint which is expected to feed into the broader Vision 2030 of an Upper Middle Income economy. The tourism sector in Zimbabwe harbours great potential in employment creation, foreign currency earnings and domestic product consumption.