admin
Zimbabwe and Zambia will in August next year co-host the UNWTO General Assembly in Victoria Falls and Livingstone.
The two host nations last month signed a trilateral agreement for the hosting of the prestigious event.
Speaking to journalists during a Pan African Familiarisation Tour at the Emirates Airlines headquarters in Dubai yesterday, senior vice president commercial operations Africa Mr Jean-Luc Grillet said the UNWTO General Assembly would completely change the tourism industry in both countries.
He said it was an opportune time for companies linked to the tourism industry to take advantage of the expected growth in the sector in Zimbabwe and Zambia including the whole Southern African region.
“The co-hosting of the UNWTO General Assembly in Victoria Falls would see a general increase in tourist arrivals in both countries and this could see a 20 percent growth in air travel in the region.
“This would see us bring in more tourists to both countries and there is a huge tourism potential in the two countries and we believe both countries have adequate infrastructure to cater for the increasing volumes of tourists headed towards the region,” he said.
Mr Grillet said he had since written to Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Walter Mzembi and his Zambian Foreign Affairs and Tourism counterpart Mr Given
Lubinda proposing to partner the governments market the event.
“We want to work with both governments to take the general assembly to the whole world.
“It’s also important for us as Emirates to engage Zimbabwe and Zambia in developing tourism in these countries,” he said.
“I have written to both ministers responsible for tourism in Zimbabwe and Zambia with our proposals and we are anxiously waiting for their responses. Co-hosting of the UNWTO General Assembly meeting was such a brilliant idea for both countries and it’s an excellent idea that we would want to promote and be part of.”
Although Mr Gillet could not be drawn to give more details about their plan to market the UNTWO General Assembly, it is reliably understood that Emirates has promised to provide marketing campaigns including road- shows across the world ahead of the event.
“We bring tourists, investors and business executives to the two countries and we believe partnering the two governments would help in tourism development in the region.”
Zimbabwe and Zambia launched a joint bid to co-host the UNWTO in Victoria Falls and Livingstone and convincingly won the majority votes to have the event near the majestic Victoria Falls during the organisation’s last meeting in South Korea last year.
President Mugabe, his Zambian counterpart President Michael Sata and the UNWTO Secretary-General Mr Taleb Rifai signed the historic trilateral agreement for the co-hosting general assembly at the Victoria Falls Bridge last month.
Victoria Falls also successfully hosted the African Tourism Assembly at the venue as a precursor to the global event next year.
Online Reporter