adminMzembi told the media on Tuesday that Zimbabwe and Zambia would share equally between them the hosting of the general assembly events. Between the intervening UNWTO events from August 24 and 29 Zimbabwe would host the opening ceremony and welcome dinner at Victoria Falls to be graced by the two countries’ heads of state.
Zambia would also hold a reciprocal closing dinner on August 28, 2013 which Minister Mzembi said would also be attended by President Mugabe and his Zambian counterpart.
“This morning (Tuesday) at Cabinet I unveiled the programme seeking the endorsement of the Government of Zimbabwe over what we discussed and concluded at the 95th session of the executive council in Belgrade, Serbia, a fortnight ago. Unanimously, Cabinet endorsed all the elements of the programme structure,” he said.
Zimbabwe and Zambia would both play host to two and half days of UNWTO events and Minister Mzembi said the success of the session would be measured on how the countries fair collectively. The UNWTO General Assembly is coming to Africa for the second time after Senegal hosted the event in 2007 and this represents unique opportunity to use the event to promote local tourism.
Minister Mzembi said during the UNWTO General Assembly, Africa sought to locate its position in the performance of global tourism. This follows concerns that out of the US$1,3 trillion direct income from tourism and US$6 trillion contribution to GDPs across the globe, Africa’s share was a mere 3 percent to 4 percent in both instances.
He said the general assembly would interrogate factors contributing to the dismal performance and measures included liberalising the travel visa requirements as has happened in other countries.
Minister Mzembi said the tourism event would also seek to interrogate issues affecting African airlines’ viability considering that 51 percent of visitors to the continent arrive by air, as such the continent was losing out on potential air tickets revenue. In addition, the UNWTO General Assembly will discuss how the tourism industry has responded to global advancements in ICTs, which have made travelling safer, faster and more enjoyable.
Further, Minister Mzembi said the mega tourism event would discuss ways in which Africa could preserve its natural wildlife appeal in the face of the massive urbanisation that have engulfed the West and destroyed most of their tourism flora and fauna.
Online Reporter