It may have been Zimbabwe’s maiden participation at the Turkey Travel Fair but that did not limit the nations dazzle.
The display was captivating, drawing massive interest from exhibitors, tour agencies, and buyers participating at the 12th edition of the Travel Turkey Fair running from 6 to 8 December.
The fair is rated among the most significant tourism meetings in the world, drawing delegates from at least 60 countries seeking linkages and innovative ideas to grow the industry.
For Zimbabwe tourism , this forum is a critical plinth and a gateway to new opportunities that could unlock a potential to at least 35 million travellers.
Minister Of Environment, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Honourable Priscah Mupfumira is leading a tourism delegation. She travelled with officials from her Ministry and a team from the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority.
Zimbabwe’s participation comes at an opportune time where Zimbabwe has been on a reengagement drive to push not only tourism but the various economic sector relations with the international world.
Already, Zimbabwe and Turkey have concluded a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding on Tourism cooperation, which will be signed soon. This will further strengthen already existing relations between the two countries.
*‘We value the relations that exist between the two countries, Zimbabwe and Turkey. We look forward to the signing of the MoU which we believe will contribute immensely to the development and promotion of tourism in both countries. The agreement will witness a number of deliverables such as destination marketing and promotion, sustainable tourism promotion, investment promotion, media and travel trade development as well as cultural and technical exchanges in the field of tourism.’* said Mupfumira.
Minister Mupfumira is also taking advantage of this mission to further negotiate with Turkish Airlines to resuscitate flights to Zimbabwe. Although the Turkish market has not been performing very well for Zimbabwe due to a number of factors owing on limited tourism knowledge on the destination and chiefly access issues, the Ministry foresees a positive outlook from this market in future as an outcome of this mission.
