Together, we can do it!

instalment it is a general article that forms the beginning of series of articles that will be on specific subjects and aspects of the hosting of the General Assembly, week in week out.
As the countdown to the 20th session of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation General Assembly to be held in Victoria Falls in 2013 starts, Zimbabweans in their broad totality should own the process and prove to the world that, we can do it.
Endowed with tourism tapestries, underpinned by the Victoria Falls itself, the venue is not a problem in terms of attractiveness but it is the act that we put in place that could be our doing or undoing.
Having participated at the 19th session UNWTO General Assembly in South Korea, last year, it is important for us all to draw lessons from the mega event.
The airports are the major ports of call and should be manned by people who are proactive, people who understand the difference between politics and tourism and hence be able to balance between the two.
Most of our visitors we expect from the 176 countries, might have, in fact, have heard a lot of negative things about Zimbabwe and this it the time to show them that Zimbabwe is far better than many countries touted as tourism havens.
We need to deal with issues of perception and reality, our politics and our tourism.
Our visa regime must be compatible with the hosting of such a mega event. South Korea had to allow certain people into its territory whom it might not have ordinarily allowed in.
Of course, we have an added advantage in that almost every Zimbabwean speaks fluent English and therefore can easily communicate with the visitor but it is the tourism etiquette that should be in place.
These sound very simple things but they really matter when it comes to our national image, our dignity and our values.
Our visa regime should actually be up to scratch and how the delegates will be able to criss-cross between Zambia and Zimbabwe and still get the proceeding on time is yet another complex matter that we need to solve.
Our wait, wait culture needs to change. We need a reliable, efficient and on-time shuttle system.
The idea of telling people, “Wait for this, wait for that” should never be allowed. We need to be smooth.
Shuttles from the airport to the various hotels, lodges and venues should be on time and efficient. There must be defined routes, and the driver should not be our notorious kombi driver and their vulgar touts. NO!
Our security system is one of the best but we need to ensure that we are incident free. Our accreditation, our security checks and our general crime handling process must tell the Zimbabwean story.
This is the opportune time for Zimbabwe to showcase its tourism product hence these preparations have to be done on time.
Let the Zimbabwean family rally behind this convention since it will go a long way in reviving and promoting our tourism product and brand.
To this end, I have no doubt that our front men in the tourism industry, Zimbabwe Tourism Authority chief executive Mr Karikoga Kaseke, tourism secretary Sylvester Maunganidze and Minister Walter Mzembi himself have the capacity to lead us into a memorable conference. Of course, they need our support. Next week we will touch on transport systems.