By Jonathan Mbiriyamveka
MASVINGO — Zimbabwe has adopted a deliberate “clusterisation” strategy to strengthen specialisation and competitiveness across its tourism sector, with the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) cluster emerging as a top priority for investment and policy attention.
The strategy was outlined by Tourism and Hospitality Industry Permanent Secretary Dr Takaruza Munyanyiwa during the MICE Masterclass held on 8 September 2026 at Urban Lifestyle in Masvingo, as part of the 19th Sanganai/Hlanganani World Tourism Expo.
“As the Ministry responsible for Tourism and Hospitality, we have recognised the need to clusterise the tourism industry as a deliberate approach to strengthening specialisation, collaboration and competitiveness across the sector,” Dr Munyanyiwa said.
“The MICE cluster is among these important clusters, given its potential to bring together various players within the tourism value chain and unlock new opportunities for growth.”
A Sophisticated Approach to Tourism Development
The Government’s cluster-based tourism strategy incorporates MICE tourism alongside sports tourism, culture and heritage tourism, and agro-tourism.
This approach reflects a more sophisticated understanding of modern tourism economics, where different tourism segments require different hospitality asset types and targeted marketing strategies.
“The approach aligns with the country’s devolution and decentralisation policy, ensuring that provinces maximise the use of their unique tourism and heritage resources,” Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Dr Zhemu Soda said earlier this year.
Tourism experts have welcomed the cluster-based approach as a game-changer that will boost investment, increase visitor numbers, and strengthen Zimbabwe’s position as a premier tourism destination.
Why MICE Tourism?
The Permanent Secretary’s focus on MICE is backed by compelling economic data. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, the value of the global MICE industry is estimated between US$650 billion and US$700 billion.
Africa’s share, however, is estimated at only US$13 billion — less than two percent of the total.
Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Barbara Rwodzi has been clear about why MICE is a priority. “Most economies have grown because of MICE tourism,” she said. “Look at Rwanda, they are who they are mostly because of MICE tourism that they promote in their country” .
The Minister also explained that MICE delivers higher per-capita spending compared to leisure and mass-market segments.
“When it’s MICE, look at the nature of people who would be coming for a business meeting because it’s a convention for business. Definitely and automatically they are high spenders,” she said.
“So sometimes we arrive (as the) ten of us, but our spending may be low. But when we see them arriving (the two) of them, and you are rest assured that the reason for meeting has an effect of high spending. The two are more critical”.
Infrastructure Development Underway
To support the MICE strategy, Government is investing in conference infrastructure across the country. Minister Rwodzi confirmed that discussions are underway to establish MICE facilities at Tokwe Mukosi in Masvingo Province and in Manicaland Province.
“We want a lot of big facilities that can accommodate people,” Minister Rwodzi said. “In Victoria Falls we have land that belongs to ourselves as the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry under our company Mosi-oa-Tunya, which we are constructing the cricket stadium and in that same land, we are bringing up one of the biggest MICE tourism facility”.
Currently, Zimbabwe has limited MICE facilities, with the Harare International Conference Centre capable of hosting more than 10,000 people and the Parliament Building providing additional capacity.
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