Page 11 - Meetings Zimbabwe 2nd Edition

Marketing strategy
Pulling together all the threads of the MICE tapestry is painstaking work, but Chikaponya said a National MICE strategy was ‘in the offing’ following consultation with international experts.
“A National Tourism Policy which was launched in 2014 fully endorses the establishment of the Zimbabwe National Convention Bureau and clearly outlines that the Government will invest in and supports the development of MICE facilities as well as the upgrading of existing ones,” said Chikaponya.
“Ongoing road infrastructural upgrades, the completion of the Joshua Mqabuko International Airport at Bulawayo and the upgrade of the Victoria Falls International Airport are testimony of the Government’s vision with regard to developing the nation as a MICE destination.”
Key to this success lies in reactivating traditional source markets and invigorating new ones, a challenge that ZNCB is meeting with the help of stakeholders: “We are seeing Zimbabwe become a serious contender for large meetings and luxury incentives with increased numbers of incentive groups coming into Zimbabwe, mainly to Victoria Falls, over the past year.
“To help this, the appointment of MICE Ambassadors will be done in stages with the first appointments being scheduled for the first quarter of 2015, while the hosting of MICE agents on familiarisation tours has been another of our key strategies to engage high end markets.”
As financial constraints have restricted the ZNCB budget for the coming year, the aim is to strengthen public and private sector partnership initiatives to keep Zimbabwe on the map: “ZNCB will continue to partner with MICE players in profiling Zimbabwe as a MICE destination as this has helped to reduce the promotional budget of the ZNCB in 2014,” Chikaponya said.
However, Zimbabwe Tourism Authority has appointed China Business Network (CBN) and Aviareps Tourism (Netherlands) to represent Zimbabwe in China and the Benelux markets, augmenting the efforts of existing Zimbabwe tourist offices in London, Frankfurt, New York, Johannesburg and Beijing.
Chikaponya said Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East were the prime target markets - Europe remaining Zimbabwe’s traditional market where many Zimbabwe associations had links and product knowledge was reasonably high, but China is a new target following the signing of a MOU to collaborate in the development of MICE tourism in both countries.
members as part of a network to share conference leads and this will also help Zimbabwe to attract more MICE business,” she said.
An additional bonus has been the introduction of the UNIVISA, a single $50 visa valid for both Zambia and Zimbabwe as well as day trips to Botswana that is the start of an inter- government initiative for a multi-country regional visa.
“The introduction of the UNIVISA will only cause MICE tourism in Zimbabwe to grow in leaps and bounds as access has been made smoother and easier for delegates coming from our major markets,” concluded Chikaponya.
MICE ambassadors in the making...
The European Union Council on Tourism and Trade has awarded Zimbabwe the World’s Best Tourism Destination title for 2014, recognising its efforts to promote eco tourism and successfully hosting the UNWTO annual meeting in the face of logistic and economic challenges – the country was cited as a safe destination that has the capacity to organise top class events.
“Zimbabwe is also in constant touch with the African ICCA
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