Mzembi re-elected UNWTO-CAF chair

From Sugar Chagonda in Medellin, Colombia
Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Walter Mzembi has been unanimously re-elected chairman of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) Regional Commission for Africa (CAF). African countries endorsed Minister Mzembi’s re-election during the 57th meeting of the CAF, which was presided over by the UNWTO secretary general Taleb Rifai.

The 57th Commission for Africa meeting is part of the agenda of the on-going 21st session of the UNWTO General Assembly being held in Medellin, Colombia. The convention began on Saturday and ends on Thursday. Addressing the meeting on his CAF report, Minister Mzembi, who has been given a fresh mandate to lead the continent for the next two years, challenged African countries to continue working together and collaborate effectively for the elimination of barriers that continue to negatively affect the brand equity of the continent.

To this end, the CAF chairman made a clarion call to source markets to remove travel advisories that discourage travel to Africa saying this reduces potential revenue to concerned countries. “It’s safe to visit African countries, including those that were affected by diseases like Ebola. I wish to call upon those source markets that issued negative travel advisories to remove them to allow smooth growth of tourism and economic recovery of the concerned countries,” he said.

The latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer for the first half of the 2015 shows that Africa’s international tourist numbers in this half declined by an estimated six percent as a consequence of the decrease in arrivals to North Africa (minus seven percent) as well as sub-Saharan Africa (minus five percent) amid security concerns and the Ebola contagion effect.

Some of the tragic incidents on the continent include unrest and terror attacks in Kenya, Nigeria, Tunisia and South Africa where there were xenophobia attacks.

Minister Mzembi also bemoaned the intolerable carnage of wildlife mainly through poaching. He said this was being amplified by trade in wildlife products across Africa, which has become a menace to the growth of tourism and sustainable management of natural resources in Africa.

“We need to take measures that enhance sustainable management of our natural resources for posterity. The most pressing issues we’re grappling with today are high levels of wildlife poaching, environmental degradation and illegal trade in wildlife products. I fully support efforts to mobilise the entire global tourism industry and lead the international anti-poaching coalition to deal with the problem. We need to harness the work of conservation organisations and create synergies that enhance sustainable management, conservation, preservation and ultimately leverage on our natural assets to improve economic value accruing from our bio-diversity to improve the lives of our communities in Africa,” said the minister.

Commenting on Zimbabwe’s re-election the deputy chairperson of the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority board, James Muzangaza, said the move was a clear brand endorsement for a country that was recently awarded an African rising destination award. “We’re pleased with this development as it makes the job of the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) easier. Zimbabwe brand in Africa is becoming more popular and it’s a stepping stone for both the person of the minister and the destination Zimbabwe to achieve more at international level,” said Muzangaza.

Zimbabwe and Zambia are the current co-presidents of the UNWTO General Assembly since the time Victoria Falls and Livingstone hosted the event in 2013. The two countries are set to hand over the presidency to Colombia at the end of this General Assembly on Thursday.