Chronicle EditorLeonard Ncube and Nqobile Bhebhe, Chronicle Writers
PRESIDENT Mnangagwa is today expected to officially open United Nations Tourism’s inaugural Regional Forum on Gastronomy for Africa, which kicks off in the resort city of Victoria Falls.
Eight First Ladies from across the globe are also expected to attend the three-day event.
In an interview yesterday, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Barbara Rwodzi said First Ladies from Angola and Serbia were expected to arrive in person in Victoria Falls late yesterday to join their host, Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa while the others will be represented.
She said 15 tourism ministers were expected to cross into Victoria Falls from Livingstone, Zambia, where they had been attending a conference while three were to land at the Victoria Falls International Airport.
Other ministers will be represented by permanent secretaries and heads of tourism boards.
The venue of the three-day conference at Elephant Hills Resort was a hive of activity yesterday as delegates started arriving and going through the accreditation processes while exhibitors, comprising mostly tertiary institutions and government agencies, set up their stands.
The official opening site had also been set up with tents for delegates and VIPs already pitched up.
About 10 000 locals from across the country are expected to attend the official opening to celebrate together with the First Lady Dr Mnangagwa as she will be honoured by the UN Tourism as a champion of culture and culinary tourism.
Gastronomy speaks to product diversification and the use of traditional foods and indigenous knowledge systems as a tourism attraction.
“All is set for the first-ever Regional Forum on Gastronomy for Africa and we are ready as the Government of Zimbabwe to receive all the delegates that are coming. All our special delegates are led by the UN Tourism Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili who has since arrived,” said Minister Rwodzi.
“We are going to be receiving First Ladies from Serbia and Angola any time today and we have many First Ladies who are represented by ministers in their different capacities. We have eight First Ladies who will be attending the official opening.”
Minister Rwodzi said President Mnangagwa will officially open the event this morning.
“The official opening will be done by His Excellency, President Mnangagwa and we have the First Lady of course who is going to be honoured by the United Nations,” she said.
“Ministers are being received and the good thing is that there was a United Nations Tourism Regional Commission for Africa (CAF) conference for Ministers of Tourism in Livingstone and we are just transporting them from Zambia to Zimbabwe.”
Minister Rwodzi said 18 ministers confirmed attending of which 15 of them are expected to come through the Victoria Falls Border while the other three are flying.
“The bigger crowd for domestic tourism in our country will arrive tomorrow (today). Victoria Falls is full to the extent that it has given us an opportunity to tell a story of what we are growing as the Ministry of Tourism within our clusters,” she said.
“Rural tourism is now demonstrating its capacity whereby some of the delegates are going to stay in rural lodges.”
About 10 000 people are expected for the official opening event today.
Minister Rwodzi said about 450 local and international delegates, some of which are local tourism players, will attend the event.
According to the UN, African tourism ministers and the FAO Representative in Zimbabwe will take part in discussions on developing a strategy to propel African gastronomy onto the global stage, how to build adequate policies to enhance gastronomy tourism and enhance its role as a driver of development.
Yesterday stakeholders embarked on a clean-up exercise from the city centre to the airport, border post, and hotels to spruce up the city’s image ahead of the event.
Zimbabwe was chosen to host the forum in recognition of the work being done by the First Lady who has been promoting the concept of gastronomy tourism from the grassroots in the wake of an exceptional exhibition of the country’s culture and cuisine by a Zimbabwean delegation at a similar forum held in Spain in October last year.
The First Lady has been instrumental in advocating gastronomy tourism through her humanitarian work with her Angel of Hope Foundation locally and abroad. She has also pushed the gastronomy tourism agenda thereby helping market the country’s traditional cuisines.
The First Lady has been promoting cultural norms and values through the National Traditional Cookout Competition where citizens have been showcasing traditional foods from ward to national level.
Meanwhile, on the sidelines of the forum, the UN Tourism Youth Photo Contest titled “A Journey through Zimbabwe’s Gastronomy” will offer Zimbabwean communities a unique opportunity to express their perspective and capture the essence of Zimbabwe’s gastronomic heritage.
Zimbabwe’s engagement towards positioning gastronomy as a key pillar for the sustainable development of tourism in Africa has been showcased through the launch of several initiatives endorsed by the First Lady as the National Tourism Patron, such as the Regional Traditional Gastronomy Festival taking place every year since 2019.
Zimbabwe has also been an active participant in previous editions of the World Forum on Gastronomy Tourism.
In addition to forum discussions, the event will include organised technical visits to various locations throughout the region.
In a statement, the UN said in recent years, gastronomy tourism has emerged as a significant travel motivation, offering authentic experiences that resonate with the growing interest in food among travellers, who are also looking for a more profound connection with local communities during their trips.
“This trend presents vast opportunities for sustainable development, cultural exchange, and community empowerment. Acknowledging the pivotal role of gastronomy in tourism development, the First UN Tourism Regional Forum on Gastronomy Tourism for Africa aims to discuss the challenges and opportunities of its promotion as a key driver for Africa’s competitiveness in the global tourism landscape,” read the statement.–@ncubeleon
Peter Tanyanyiwa
Online Reporter