Kudos to our tourism ambassadors

expectations in 2011.
The year cannot come to an end and this column cannot justify its existence if it fails to honour two illustrious sons, who took the country’s tourism and hospitality industry to greater heights and hoisted the national flag high.

In its broad totality, the tourism and hospitality industry put its act together in a year in which local and international accolades poured into the country. To cap it all, the tourism industry pocketed the 2013 United Nations World Tourism Organisation General Assembly, to be co-hosted with Zambia.

That is the highest achievement by the industry thanks to the cunning, industrious and visionary negotiations by the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority chief executive Mr Karikoga Kaseke and Tourism and Hospitality Industry secretary Dr Sylvester Maunganidze.
The two men spent a lot of their time, away from home, moving from one corridor of power to another in Madrid, Spain, the headquarters of UNWTO, and their footprints are still seen today.

The two men also moved from embassy to embassy convincing them that little Zimbabwe and its neighbour, Zambia, had the financial, political, social capacity and anything else required to host one of the world’s mega events, albeit against all odds.

Jordan with its spilling oil wells, Qatar with its billion-dollar muscle, Russia with its international influence and affluence all failed to beat Zimbabwe’s bid.
Thanks to the two gentlemen of our tourism industry. Time and space permitting, I would have gone into the personally profiles of these esteemed gentlemen, but the hosting of the UNWTO is certainly their footprint, it is a shining beacon on their CVs and something that we cannot take away from them.

Like or hate them, they made it for Zimbabwe and they deserve special mention.