HAZ PRESIDENT URGES HOSPITALITY SECTOR TO READY ITSELF FOR IATF 2029 AND BEYOND

The Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe’s president, Mrs. E. Kativu, delivered a keynote address at the recently concluded Meet the Bankers Conference, using the platform to lay out the groundwork the tourism and hospitality industry needs to put in place ahead of the 2029 Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF).

Kativu’s address centred on the scale of opportunity the industry stands to gain not just from hosting IATF 2029 itself, but from the years that follow it. She framed the trade fair as a milestone rather than an endpoint, arguing that the real test for Zimbabwe’s hospitality sector lies in how well it positions itself to capture sustained benefit from the increased visibility and investor interest such events tend to generate long after the closing ceremony.

Much of her speech focused on the practical work required to get there. Kativu spoke at length about the need for strategic planning across the sector, calling on hotels, lodges, tour operators and related businesses to move beyond reactive, event-by-event preparation and instead build longer-term capacity that can be sustained well past 2029. She also placed strong emphasis on innovation, pointing to the need for the industry to modernise its offerings and adopt new approaches to stay competitive on a continental and global stage.

Collaboration featured prominently in her remarks as well. Kativu stressed that no single player in the industry could deliver the kind of growth she envisioned alone, and she called on stakeholders across government, financial institutions, private operators and industry associations to work in closer alignment. Her appearance at a conference specifically aimed at bringing banking and financial sector representatives into conversation with industry figures was itself seen as an example of the kind of cross-sector engagement she was advocating for.

The speech generated considerable engagement among conference attendees, sparking discussion and debate in the sessions that followed. Delegates reportedly left the conference energised, with many describing renewed motivation to pursue collaborative initiatives within their own organisations and across the wider sector.

The Meet the Bankers Conference, which brought together voices from Zimbabwe’s financial and hospitality industries, has now wrapped up, though its outcomes are expected to feed into ongoing conversations about how the tourism sector should prepare for IATF 2029. Further details on specific action plans or follow-up initiatives stemming from the conference were not immediately available.