Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions to anchor tourism recovery

Story by Tichaona Kurewa

ZIMBABWE is leveraging Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) to attain a five billion United States dollar tourism industry by next year.

The road to recovery is paved with innovation, and Zimbabwe’s tourism industry is proving to be a practical example.

By embracing Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE), the country is attracting new visitors, boosting its economy, and positioning itself as a leading destination for business events in Africa.

“The very good thing about MICE activities coming to our town is that they give us more exposure, there isn’t much exposure to the destination. The more people we have coming to Victoria Falls, put us on the map, because when they come, some of them are curious about one or two things, and thanks to our Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) board they always make sure that they keep these visitors entertained and we are always open to give them complimentaries, give them a test of Victoria Falls if I may say.

“They get to have boat cruises, interact with our animals see different things, see the Victoria Falls. Important people like ministers, doing such activities and talking about them and putting them in the papers and having ZBC and all the other media news broadcasters talking about them that’s is very good marketing for the destination. Everyone else in different countries will get to know get to know what is happening here,” said Elephant Experience Marketing Manager, Ms Janice Ncube.

“Coming of conferences in destination Victoria Falls, as many as they can is a huge contributor to the US$5 billion target that we are anchoring on. I am sure if this continues if we keep on bidding for these conferences as a country through our national convention bureau, I am sure the US$5 billion tourism industry target can be met even before the year 2025 that is what we are aiming for as government,” said Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Honourable Barbra Rwodzi.

The Transform Africa Summit, International Association of Insurance Supervisors Conferences, Junior Chamber International, Africa Public Service Day, UNWTO Media, Communication Workshop, and the UN Economic Commission for Africa are some of the MICE events held in Zimbabwe over the past 12 months.