adminIT is victory time for Victoria Falls as it plays host to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation General Assembly from tomorrow to August 29, 2013. A festive mood has gripped the tourism town with massive events lined up for the opening night. Some may want to call it the best event in the history of tourism in Africa, but the residents of Victoria Falls are saying “it’s manna from heaven”.
The UNWTO General Assembly will run under the theme “It’s Our Time — Showcasing Zimbabwe’s Victoria Falls World Wonder”.
Zimbabwe’s moment to shine has indeed arrived.
Since winning the bid to co-host the event with Zambia in Guangju, South Korea, two years ago, the Government and private sector have done a lot and invested substantial sums of money and human resources to make the event successful.
The mood has changed in the resort town of Victoria Falls as the residents are now “feeling it”, amid great expectations from the players in the sector to residents who hope that the event will see more tourists visiting the country.
More visitors to the country means more revenue inflows. This, in turn, means more income to spend for the people.
In an interview recently, Shearwater Adventures public relations manager Mr Clement Mukwasi said after all the work done by the Government and private sector, it was time for the country to host the event and hope for great returns.
“We are in it together: the Government and us, the private sector. We are ready and now await the world to descend on our beautiful country. A lot has been said and done; we have even had negative publicity by the Western media.
“For all they know, the tourism indaba is here and we can feel it,” he said.
Mr Ben Tesa, general manager of Khanondo Safaris, said the country will reap benefits from the General Assembly.
“We should thank the Government for the effort it made that led to us winning the bid.
“After the bid, the Government also invested a lot in the infrastructural development of the town that saw the roads being resealed, tarred.
“We now have a new water and sewer reticulation system, among other developments that have come with the co-hosting of the event.”
The UNWTO is the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism and is the leading international organisation in the field of travel and tourism.
It promotes tourism as a driver of economic growth, inclusive development and environmental sustainability and offers leadership and support to the sector in advancing knowledge and tourism policies worldwide.
Headquartered in Madrid, Spain, the UNWTO encourages the implementation of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, to maximise tourism’s socio-economic contribution while minimising its possible negative impacts, and is committed to promoting tourism as an instrument in achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, geared towards reducing poverty and fostering sustainable development.
UNWTO generates market knowledge, promotes competitive and sustainable tourism policies and instruments, fosters tourism education and training, and works to make tourism an effective tool for development through technical assistance projects in over 100 countries around the world.
Its membership includes 155 countries, six associate members and over 400 affiliate members representing the private sector, educational institutions, tourism associations and local tourism authorities.
Some of the member states with years of admission in the UNWTO include Ghana, Kenya, Malawi and Morocco who joined the organisation in 1975, Algeria (1976), Angola (1989), South Africa (1994), Botswana and Mozambique (1995), Zambia (1975) and Zimbabwe (1981).
The General Assembly is the principal gathering of the World Tourism Organisation.
It meets every two years to approve the budget and programme of work and to debate topics of vital importance to the tourism sector.
The 18th session of the UNWTO General Assembly was held in Astana, Kazakhstan, in 2009 and endorsed the Roadmap for Recovery as a way to mainstream tourism into economic stimulus packages. It appointed Dr Taleb Rifai of Jordan as Secretary-General for the period 2010-2013.
Zimbabwe and Zambia are co-hosting the 20th UNWTO General Assembly for the first time after joining the organisation in 1981 and 1975 respectively.
Online Reporter