ANGELA CHISHIMBA, Lusaka
THE Zambia Tourist Board (ZTB) will next month host the Zambia Travel Expo (ZATEX), with 15 confirmed buyers from Africa, Asia, Middle East and Europe.
Speaking when he announced the upcoming event, ZTB managing director Felix Chaila said ZATEX will be held from May 21 to 23, 2015.
“This event will bring together buyers, exhibitors, the media and the public to a live marketplace where we will market Zambia as a preferred tourism destination,” Mr Chaila said.
He said this event is a key regional marketplace for promoting tourism in Africa, and will also be a networking platform for industry players in the regional and global tourism industry.
“This is also a platform for domestic tourism marketing and capacity building for the Zambian tourism industry,” he said.
The programme will start with pre-event capacity building workshops from May 18 to 20, to raise service delivery in the tourism, travel and hospitality industry.
The expo will also include business-to-business activities to promote networking by conducting speed-dating sessions between buyers and exhibitors.
Mr Chaila said there are 15 confirmed buyers coming from Tanzania, South Africa, France and Germany and that more are yet to confirm.
“The success of an expo lies in the quality of buyers. Zambia as a destination is easy to sell because of the abundance of natural endowments. But to effectively market Zambia, we have to identify quality buyers from markets that deliver consistently and increasing numbers,” he said.
The final day of the expo has been reserved for business to consumer activities where the public are invited to sample products on exhibition.
“This year, we are launching the green season campaign in May to give the public time to plan and shop for their 2015/2016 off-season holidays,” Mr Chaila said.
ZTB has also developed a mobile application called Travela where people can access locations such as the Victoria Falls and South Luangwa National Park among other tourist destinations.
Last month, ZTB organised the Livingstone International Culture and Arts Festival which attracted both local and international tourists.