adminIn an interview on the eve of the 37th annual world congress which starts today, Mr Bergman said a number of activities such as road shows and tourism exhibitions were held in the United States over the past year in an effort to boost interest by the Americans to travel to the country.
“We are positive that the congress will be a major turnaround for the country. A number of activities have been held in the United States in an effort to boost interest for people there to travel to the country.
“It was decided to have the conference in Zimbabwe to allow international tourism delegates, travel and tour operators and the international media to have a better understanding of the situation in the country and what it has to offer in terms of tourism,” he said.
Mr Bergman said the country was endowed with tourist attractions that compared favourably with attractions in other countries.
Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) executive director for destination marketing Mrs Tessa Chikaponya said the conference was important for the tourism sector as it would endorse the country as a safe tourist destination after years of negative publicity by the international media.
She said the congress was an opportunity for the country to re-launch the tourism brand especially to the source markets in Europe and US.
“Various activities are expected to take place during the five-day conference including the launch of Culinary Tourism which focuses on food. Chefs from the United States will be coming to work with local chefs to exchange ideas, a development which will see an introduction of new dishes in local hotels.
“The Africa Travel Association has also been working with the African Union Commission to promote tourism in Africa and the conference is expected to focus on various issues including air access, networking and creation of partnerships in the tourism industry,” she said.
She said the congress would address timely industry topics such as web-based public relations and on-line tourism promotion, and the latest travel trends on the continent.
There are a wide range of networking events that have been lined up and these included receptions, gala dinners, a culture night featuring Oliver Mtukudzi and other artistes and a cultural festival at Mpisi village just outside Victoria Falls.
Meanwhile, Mrs Chikaponya said an ATA clinic had been put in place to offer free health care to locals in and around Victoria Falls.
“We want the community to also benefit from the congress as a way of ploughing back so that they see what tourism has done for them. The clinic will offer free eye care, ultra sound scan, BP checks and dental checks. People from Victoria Falls will be coming through their wards and we are also going to bus in patients from Mpisi village which is outside Victoria Falls. By the end of ATA we want to have assisted more than 1 000 patients,” said Mrs Chikaponya.
ATA’s last annual world congress was held in Dakar, Senegal, in May last year. It is one of the leading global trade associations promoting travel and tourism to Africa and strengthening intra-Africa partnerships.
Londile Moyo
Online Reporter