by Gideon Madzikatidze/Simbarashe Sithole
MASVINGO – With just a few days to go, the ‘Heritage City’ (Masvingo) is set to host flagship Sports Tourism Carnival from 1 to 4 September 2026, the high-energy curtain-raiser to the 19th edition of the Sanganai/Hlanganani/Dzimbahwe World Tourism Expo.
The carnival will activate the province’s sport, culture and heritage assets ahead of the Street Carnival on 5 September and the main Expo from 9 to 12 September 2026.
In line with President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s devolution agenda of leaving no one and no place behind, the decision to take Sanganai to Masvingo aligns with Vision 2030 and the National Development Strategy 2 economic transformation thrust. The objective which seeks to use a mega MICE and leisure platform to drive tourism infrastructure, FDI, SME linkages and destination competitiveness beyond traditional hubs.
The September Sports Tourism Carnival is designed as a demand-generator and packaging platform that converts sporting events into travel motivators. With sports tourism now a core growth vertical globally, the carnival will showcase tournaments, exhibitions, fan activations and community sport as experiential products to be sold through tour operators and DMCs during the Expo.
Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry Honourable Barbara Rwodzi, who recently toured the host venues with Minister of State for Masvingo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Honourable Ezra Chadzamira, said the model leverages Masvingo’s unique proposition.
“Masvingo sits strategically along the regional Cape-to-Cairo corridor. The Sports Tourism Carnival gives us an opportunity to package sport with heritage, particularly the iconic Great Zimbabwe, and convert that into overnight stays, per-capita spend and repeat visitation,” Rwodzi said.
Preparations are at an advanced stage to ensure product readiness and seamless visitor flow.
At Gymkhana Tourism Park, works are nearly complete and the multi-use precinct will debut with a restaurant, bar, gastronomy hub, Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) offices and a mini-stadium to host carnival activities.
A conference centre is earmarked as a post-Sanganai development to grow Masvingo’s capacity for business events and sports MICE.
Masvingo airport refurbishment, road upgrades and expo site improvements are also underway. Industry players say the upgrades will improve airlift, accessibility and last-mile connectivity, creating legacy infrastructure to support tourism beyond the event.
The Great Zimbabwe visitor centre will host the official welcome cocktail, giving international buyers and media a first taste of the province’s heritage tourism product and a chance to B2B with local operators.
Meanwhile, Sanganai is tracking strong numbers and to date, hundreds exhibitors have registered, with projections of 450 participants. The hosted buyer program stands at 129 international buyers and 44 local buyers, with registrations still building.
The devolved model is already yielding dividends. Australia will participate in Sanganai for the first time following Zimbabwe’s tourism roadshow, while Indian source market growth has been recorded to destinations showcased at the last expo in the eastern highlands. Stakeholders say this strengthens the link between market exposure, tourist arrivals, investment and sustainable community benefits.
Minister Rwodzi said the province must now unlock investment in five-star accommodation, conference facilities, lodges, restaurants and ancillary tourism products to capture higher yields.
“We want to move from arrivals to receipts. Sports Tourism, coupled with heritage, gives Masvingo a differentiated value proposition that can extend length of stay and spread economic opportunities to communities,” she said.
As Masvingo counts down to 1 September, the Sports Tourism Carnival is positioned not just as entertainment, but as a strategic product-development and market-access tool – one that will set the tone for Sanganai/Hlanganani/Dzimbahwe and showcase Zimbabwe’s ability to fuse sport, heritage and hospitality into a bankable tourism offering.