…Holly Budge is the first woman to skydive Mount Everest.
The World’s record adventurer and conservationist, Holly Budge, is set to grace the 12th edition of the Sanganai/ Hlanganani World tourism expo in Bulawayo in a bid to encourage women in tourism to dream bigger.
The expo, organised by the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) is slated for September 12 to 14, 2019 at the Zimbabwe International Exhibition Centre at trade fair grounds in Bulawayo.
Budge is popularly known for being the first woman to skydive Mount Everest.
Her passion for adventure is evident with two world records under her belt so far including her race of semi-wild horses 1 000 kilometres across Mongolia in just nine days.
Other achievements include summiting Everest, leading an expedition on the technical mountain Ama Dablam in Nepal and making a successful first ascent in the Altai Mountains.
Budge is also known across the world for her energetic speaking about the power of passion and overcoming challenges with flexibility of thought, lateral thinking skill, confidence and good judgement.
Africa Conservation Travel Director, Shelley Cox said she is thrilled with the inclusion of women in the expo.
“We have managed to arrange for internationally acclaimed female, adventure, conservationist and motivational speaker, Holly Budge, to join the workshop in an effort to encourage women in tourism to think big and dream bigger,” said Cox.
“As the annual Sanganai/Hlanganani World Tourism Expo approaches, we at Africa Conservation Travel are looking forward to connecting with the international and regional buyers and media who will be attending to showcase all that Zimbabwe has to offer from the tourism and conservation perspective”.
She said the presence of Budge is going to equip women in industry with necessary skills.
“I am particularly excited about the inclusion of a ‘women in tourism’ capacity building workshop which has been included in this year’s conference to empower and equip women in industry with the necessary skills to enhance the development and rise of women in the industry,” she said.
Meanwhile, ZTA head of Corporate Affairs, Godfrey Koti, said preparations for the Sanganai/Hlanganani expo were at an advanced stage and advised exhibitors and investors to use the opportunity to establish strategic business partnerships with the world tourism players.
“This is going to be a two-day event in which we seek to showcase and promote Zimbabwe for MICE, which is Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions,” said Koti.
“We are excited by the calibre of exhibitors and buyers from outside the country,” he said.
“At this time, we can confirm that preparations are at an advanced stage for this mega event and already we have over 250 exhibitors who have registered and most of our International buyers and exhibitors have started arriving,” he said.
Koti revealed that 20 countries had so far confirmed their participation.
“About 20 countries have confirmed their participation, these include India, China, Italy, Nigeria, Zambia, South Africa, Botswana and Mozambique,” he said.
