Story by Tichaona Kurewa
THE Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) tourism sub-sector is proving to be a crucial driver of Zimbabwe’s tourism recovery and growth as the country journeys towards an upper-middle-income society by 2030.
According to the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA), a remarkable 231 conferences were held in the iconic Victoria Falls between January and September 2024, attracting a significant number of 20 000 business visitors.
This surge in MICE tourism has not only boosted the local economy but has also positioned Zimbabwe as a premier destination for international conferences and events in line with Vision 2030.
The influx of business travellers has had a ripple effect on various sectors, including hospitality, transportation and retail as confirmed by the Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe (HAZ) this Friday.
“MICE tourism boosts the tourism industry in the sense that we are getting more footprints of people coming in from various areas, be it domestic, regional, or even international. These people are not just coming in for the meetings, but they also boost the accommodation aspect because they need somewhere to stay. Not only that, it means that there’s revenue for our restaurants. There’s also revenue for those who sell curios and paraphernalia for tourists. So in the end, the whole value chain is enhanced and it impacts on every aspect of the economy because they then consume our goods,” said HAZ’s vice president, Mrs Emmah Kativu.
MICE events often involve advance payments and participants tend to be high spenders.
“I think the advantage of the MICE business is that many companies will have these workshops or meetings budgeted for from the beginning of the year and probably they have more than five or six delegates coming in or sometimes with the group coming in, so in terms of budget, it’s something that had already been decided and they will pay sometimes in advance and they push big volumes as compared to a family which will also try and cut costs and make the holiday enjoyable. So, I find that whilst we are competing regionally in terms of standards, we tend to benefit if we are going the MICE tourism way because we know they will definitely spend more in terms of the conferencing venue and accommodation as well,” added Mrs Kativu.
In the past 10 months, Victoria Falls has successfully hosted several MICE events, including the 7th Congress of the Conference of Constitutional Jurisdictions of Africa, the African Roads Maintenance Funds Association Southern Africa Focal Group meeting, the National Social Security Authority Safety and Health at the Workplace Conference, the SADC Committee of Central Bank Governors meeting and the 15th International Military Sports Council Golf Tournament.
The tourism sector is being considered one of the critical sectors towards the attainment of an upper-middle-income society by 2030.
