Tourism: Link for cultures

of the World Tourism Day in four weeks’ time.
World Tourism Day is commemorated annually on September 27.
As we join the global tourism family in celebrating World Tourism Day, we have dedicated the whole mo-nth of September and enshrined it the “Tourism Month.”
This day was instituted by the General Assembly of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation to foster awareness in the international community on the importance of tourism and its social, cultural, political and economic values. The day is celebrated worldwide by tourism enterprises and various organisations through participating in events on themes selected by the General Assembly of the UNWTO.
To mark the WTD 2011 Celebrations, various activities have been lined up for the September calendar ranging from the launch of the Tourism Month tomorrow, public lectures, tourism gala, community outreach and tour of various cultural and heritage sites, among others.
Zimbabwe is endowed with rich and diverse cultures. I am particularly delighted that this year’s theme is “Tourism Linking Cultures”, where we are celebrating tourism’s role in breaking down barriers across cultures and fostering tolerance, respect and mutual understanding. Let me take this opportunity to set out some of my own thoughts on this subject and share with you the activities planned for the month.
As we join the global tourism family in celebrating World Tourism Day we have dedicated the whole month of September and enshrined it the, “Tourism Month.”
To celebrate this we will have a cocktail of activities and events as, launch of the Tourism Month in Murehwa and Masvingo. There will be a Ministerial Braai with tourism stakeholders in Harare on September 9.
My ministry has also set a public lecture at Midlands State University in Gweru, a tourism symposium in Harare on September 13 and another at Great Zimbabwe University in Masvingo.
Since the culture theme is important and central to this year’s commemorations, there will be an International Cultural Exhibition Day in Harare on September 17 and to go with it will be the Zimbabwe Applied Arts in Craft Association Day in Harare.
The tourism and hospitality industry will also tour Mbungo Estates in Masvingo. Celebrations will rich fever pitch with tourism gala, community outreach programmes and tourism sports tournament in the last week of the Month as well as the tour of Zimbabwe’s citadel of civilisation, the Great Zimbabwe National Monument. There will be a cultural festival.
The main celebrations will be in Masvingo where performers and crafters of the tourism and hospitality industry in Zimbabwe will be honoured through the National Tourism Awards. There, men, women and children, who made sterling contributions to the tourism and hospitality industry in the past 12 months, will be honoured. This should be a great inspiration for all and sundry and we should all take pride in honouring our own son and daughters. Cultural tourism is growing in importance internationally. It has been achieving average annual growth rate of 15 percent, almost twice the times of the overall growth rate for the tourism industry. Cultural tourism represents a third of all tourism business and is a high yield area. Tourism has already identified culture seekers as our best prospects and has repositioned their marketing and promotion efforts towards this group.
The new Tourism Brand – Zimbabwe, A World of Wonders – also reinforces this trend, as it recognises our people and culture as the first wonder that tourists encounter when they visit our country. From a tourism perspective, I also believe that there is latent potential in developing Zimbabwe as a vibrant and dynamic cultural powerhouse on the tourism global map.
It is in this context that I highly commend the organisation of cultural festivals such as the Shangani Cultural Festival held at Chief Tshovani of Chiredzi in the lowveld last weekend. A film shot during the festival will be passed on to ZBC so the nation can have a feel of what we aspire to see happen in all provinces.
In the next week I will be announcing the setting up of a National Tourism and Heritage Advisory Council, which will advise and guide me as we take measures to ensure that our cultural heritage is preserved for prosperity in all its fullness. I feel compelled to make a clarion call to all Zimbabweans to preserve our cultures, diverse as they are and ensure that we are proud of who we are. It is our unique cultures as Ndebeles, Kalanga’s, Vhenda’s, Zezuru, Manyikas, Karanga’s, Tonga’s and other cultures that form part of this nation that collectively, we define the uniqueness of Zimbabwe.
Our culture is a unique selling point for tourists and we thus need to guard jealously against culture erosion.
Ultimately, tourism is an economic sector based on human interaction, exchange and dialogue. WTD 2011 is a call to all those involved in tourism to act in a way that is conscious and respectful of culture, which promotes intercultural dialogue and ensures that local communities fully participate in, and benefit from, the development opportunities of tourism.

l Walter Mzembi is the Masvingo South legislator and Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry. He also sits on the executive council of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation.