Bulawayo hotels fully booked

The   country's    second   largest   city, Bulawayo,  has virtually run out of hotel accommodation ahead of the of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair which  starts tomorrow.

A survey of the major hotels in the city such as the Holiday Inn, Bulawayo Rainbow Hotel and Cresta Churchill showed that they were all fully booked until after the annual trade showcase.

"We are fully booked until after April 28 because of the Trade Fair. People usually book early for the Trade Fair, so there are no rooms available," said an official at Holiday Inn Hotel.

Although he could not divulge the rates that were being charged for the period, the official said some rates were considerably higher than normal.

Normally hotels in Bulawayo charge between US$140 and US$155 for a standard room while a double room costs between US$168 and US$185 but during the ZITF some tend to double their rates due to high demand for accommodation.

Hundreds of exhibitors and visitors from outside Bulawayo usually struggle to get accommodation during the fair as hotels and accredited lodges are fully booked for the duration of the fair.

Some individuals rent their homes to stranded delegates and this year might not be any different.

ZITF company chairman Mr Bekithemba Nkomo, however, said they were working to overcome the challenge faced by exhibitors and visitors coming to the ZITF.

"While accommodation is usually a challenge, our strategic partner, Eco Logical Safaris, is assisting participants to secure alternative accommodation," Mr Nkomo said.

He added that the daily morning and evening Air Zimbabwe flights between Harare and Bulawayo would also ease the pressure on delegates coming from outside Bulawayo.

Meanwhile, all is set for the fair which will see the two biggest foreign contingents of exhibitors coming from China and South Africa.

Among the South African exhibitors is one of their biggest construction companies, Group Five.

Group Five's business development official Mr Greg Heale is expected to be among the international speakers to address the business forum that will be held during the ZITF.

Group Five and the Government through the Zimbabwe National Roads Administration formed a joint venture company that is upgrading some of the country's major highways, notably the Plumtree-Bulawayo-Harare-Mutare highway.

Mr Nkomo said more than 49 000 square metres of exhibition had been sold so far. He said this translated to 95 percent of available exhibition space occupied by 465 direct exhibitors.

"This is a favourable position as last year we closed the fair at 94 percent," Mr Nkomo said.

He added that Scholastica had also attracted foreign participants, notably the Botswana Investment & Trade Centre which he said was bringing eight organisations, mostly universities to market themselves to the local aspiring university students.

"For the first time, Namibia University will be participating as well," he said.

The ZITF International Business Conference running parallel to the trade fair is also set to be a major highlight.

The conference will be held on April 24 and Vice President Joice Mujuru will deliver the keynote address on "Zimbabwe on a new tidal wave of socio-economic transformation and sustainable development in the modern era".

Other presentations are expected from notable speakers such as the Indian Ambassador to Zimbabwe, J. K. Triphathi, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara and Industry and Commerce Minister Welshman Ncube.

Also on the programme are World Bank senior economist Piffareti, University of Zimbabwe economist Rob Davies, TelOne managing director Ms Chipo Mtasa, chairman of the Zimbabwe Investment Authority, Mr Nigel Chanakira and CBZ group chief executive Dr John Mangudya.

The 54th edition of Africa's biggest fair will be officially opened by Malawian President Joyce Banda and will run from April 23 to    27.