The Tourism Expo Japan (TEJ) 2019 kicked off today and Zimbabwe delegates are participating as trade visitors at the Fair which is being hosted for the first time in the second largest city of Japan, in Osaka – Kansai Region.
The four day fair attracted 1500 companies from over 100 countries and is expecting 250 000 total visitors. This year’s Exhibition, Forums and Seminars are being guided by the overall theme of “Advancing Sustainable Development Goals” meant to showcase the latest styles of tourism promotion.
The opening day saw the convergence of a Ministerial roundtable for tourism Ministers from 18 countries to discuss challenges and future prospects of tourism. This year’s Expo that comes in the middle of preparations for 2020 World Olympics to be held in Japan is expected to create new demand and develop new tourism markets for a wide range of destinations.
Zimbabwe Tourism Authority’s Acting Chief Executive, Givemore Chidzidzi, said Japan remains a big source in the Asian market. “For Destination Zimbabwe this market has great potential and that is the major reason for our participation at the ongoing Expo. In 2018 Zimbabwe received a total of 32 000 tourist arrivals from Japan and the figure is expected to increase come the end of 2019,” he said.
“There is serious interest to destination Zimbabwe by the Japanese, in fact it’s a market that has always been ready for us hence the onus is on us to intensify our efforts through identifying other additional activities such as roadshows, familiarisation tours amongst many others,” said Chidzidzi.
Chidzidzi added that the country’s over-reliance on attending one Fair annually needed to be looked at seriously, if the destination was to receive more tourists.
Tourism is indeed a force good for all as it is an essential, invaluable part of our lives. Each and every day 12 million passengers board flights, 120 000 flights worldover take off for places near and far, new places, people and possibilities are discovered, lives and livelihoods are strengthened. Most importantly tourism as a sector it is responsible for one in ten jobs created globally hence it is a low hanging fruit vital for global development.
Zimbabwe is represented by the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority’s, Eniel Senderayi (Marketing Manager – Asia and Pacific) and Mrs Tinaye Kazhanje (Marketing Executive – Asia and Pacific).
