In a move to grow the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) sector, the government of Zimbabwe has urged the private tourism and hospitality sector to collaborate with the public sector when bidding for events.
Speaking at the 2022 Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe Congress, which kicked off in Victoria Falls last week, Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) Chief Executive, Winnie Muchanyuka, said: “I would like to encourage the hospitality industry to continue working closely with the ZTA and other government organisations to jointly formulate strategies to bid for more MICE business.
“MICE business continues to be the dominating force in generating room occupancies for hotels,” she added.
There is a need for the hospitality sector to also focus on domestic MICE events. “There is a lot of potential for us to create more MICE business locally. We just need to have a more collaborated approach as a sector. If you look at our statistics for this year, you will find that MICE contributed quite significantly to the general recovery of the sector,” said Muchanyuka.
Key statistics
The first half of 2022 saw 5 705 MICE functions hosted in Zimbabwe with 354 553 delegates.
“The Harare, Bulawayo and Mutare/Vumba regions dominated in terms of functions held, accounting for a combined 71% at national level,” said Muchanyuka.
