Masvingo is counting down to a four-day sporting festival that tourism authorities hope will demonstrate the growing potential of sport as a driver of visitor numbers, business activity and destination marketing.

The Sports Tourism Carnival, scheduled for September 1 to 4 2026, will bring athletes and spectators together in Masvingo as the province prepares to host the Sanganai Hlanganani Dzimbahwe Tourism Expo.

The event is being organised by the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality and the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, with organisers seeking to use sport to expose visitors to a wider range of tourism experiences available in the province.

The programme will cover football, netball, cricket, tennis, basketball, volleyball, boxing, marathon, pool, golf and rugby, with entertainment also forming part of the four-day programme.

For tourism authorities, the concept is intended to move destination promotion beyond conventional attractions and create reasons for people to travel specifically for events.

The organisers say the approach could generate business for hotels, restaurants, transport operators, traders and other tourism-related enterprises while giving local athletes an opportunity to compete before larger audiences.

The carnival is also being positioned as a precursor to Sanganai Hlanganani, which will be hosted in Masvingo for the first time.

The tourism expo is expected to place the province's heritage, wildlife and adventure offerings before domestic and international tourism stakeholders, making the sporting event an opportunity to build interest in the destination beforehand.

Tourism authorities believe the combination of sport and tourism can help change how Masvingo is marketed.

“Tourism is not just about sites and hotels, but it’s also about experiences, energy and community,” organisers said in outlining the thinking behind the carnival.

The strategy reflects an effort to package tourism around activities that encourage visitors to remain in a destination for longer rather than simply passing through to see a single attraction.

For Masvingo, that could mean visitors combining sporting events with trips to Great Zimbabwe, wildlife destinations and other attractions in the province.

More visitors can translate into additional room bookings, restaurant spending, transport demand and sales for small businesses, while sporting participants and their supporters can provide a temporary boost to local economic activity.

Tourism authorities are also increasingly looking towards sport as a way of broadening Zimbabwe's tourism products.

The September carnival provides an opportunity to put that approach into practice on a larger scale by bringing several sporting disciplines together in one destination.

Masvingo's selection is also significant because the province already has one of Zimbabwe's strongest tourism identities through Great Zimbabwe.

Organisers believe the combination can create a different proposition for visitors, one in which historical attractions are complemented by sporting competition, entertainment and social experiences.

The expo is one of Zimbabwe's biggest platforms for promoting its tourism products, and taking it to Masvingo gives the province an opportunity to showcase itself to a wider tourism market.

The carnival can act as an additional demonstration of what the province can offer beyond its traditional heritage attractions.

Organisers say the event is intended to promote a broader vision of tourism in which sporting activities become part of the destination experience.

“Sports Tourism is one of the fastest growing segments globally,” organisers said, adding that authorities were using different strategies to increase the contribution of sport to tourism.

The event is also expected to involve sporting organisations, local authorities and private-sector players, with the intention of ensuring that tourism benefits extend beyond the competition venues.

That approach could prove important if sports tourism is to become a sustainable part of Zimbabwe's tourism strategy rather than a series of isolated events.

The real measure will be whether tournaments create repeat visitors, new business relationships, stronger local supply chains and increased spending within host communities.

The carnival's organisers are also framing the event as part of a broader destination-marketing strategy.

"Instead of waiting for tourists, ZTA is creating the events that pull them in.”

That philosophy puts events at the centre of tourism promotion, using sport and entertainment to create a reason for people to visit while introducing them to the wider attractions of a destination.

For Masvingo, the opportunity extends beyond the four-day programme.

If the carnival succeeds in attracting visitors and generating business activity, it could strengthen the case for more regular sporting events to be incorporated into the province's tourism calendar.

The organisers have also sought to connect the event to Zimbabwe's broader national identity, using the campaign hashtags #OurHeritage, #NhakaYedu, #IlifaLethu and #ZimBho.

With one week remaining before the opening, Masvingo is preparing to put the concept to the test.

The September Sports Tourism Carnival will ultimately be judged not simply by the number of games played, but by whether sport can bring new visitors into the province, increase local spending and persuade tourists to discover more of what Masvingo offers.

The bigger ambition is to establish sport as another route through which Zimbabwe can market its destinations   combining competition, heritage, entertainment and business into a single tourism experience.