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Patrick Chitumba Victoria Falls Reporter
THE United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) secretary-general, Mr Taleb Rifai, arrived in Victoria Falls yesterday for the organisation’s 20th session and immediately declared that the outcome of the just-ended harmonised elections represented the will of the people of Zimbabwe.
In an interview soon after his arrival in Victoria Falls for the 20th session of the UNWTO general assembly, Mr Rifai congratulated President Mugabe for his seventh-term.
“Well, we are here to celebrate a very big event. It coincides with a very important day (inauguration of President Mugabe) and experience for the people of Zimbabwe. I am very delighted that the elections went smoothly and the will of the people of Zimbabwe was clear,” he said.
Mr Rifai said the UNWTO general assembly was a very important event not only for Zimbabwe and Zambia, but for the whole world.
“This is a very important event for the governments of Zimbabwe and Zambia and also Africa and the entire world. We have been waiting for a long time to have this General Assembly in this part of the world,” said Mr Rifai.
He said the UNWTO general assembly was already a success considering the number of countries that have confirmed participation.
More than 150 countries have so far confirmed attending the event, and Mr Rifai said this was the highest attendance in the history of the general assembly.
Welcoming Mr Rifai, the former Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister, Engineer Walter Mzembi, said the general assembly was coming at a very important time when the country was celebrating the inauguration of President Mugabe.
“Today is a public holiday as we are celebrating the inauguration of President Mugabe and the outcome of the elections. We are very happy to be co-hosting the general assembly conference and we promise you that we are going to give you a true African experience,” said Eng Mzembi.
Zimbabwe and Zambia are co-hosting the session which starts tomorrow and ends on Thursday in Victoria Falls and Livingstone.
The two countries are set to assume the co-presidency of the general assembly, taking over from the Republic of Korea whose term started in 2011.
The co-presidency will run until 2015 when either Cambodia or Colombia would host the next session.
The 20th session of the general assembly is also an elective one, as it has to confirm the candidature of Mr Rifai who was nominated for another term by the executive council’s 95th session in Belgrade, Serbia, in May.
The UNWTO is a United Nations (UN) agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism and is the leading international organisation in the field of travel and tourism.
It promotes tourism as a driver of economic growth, inclusive development and environmental sustainability and offers leadership and support to the sector in advancing knowledge and tourism policies worldwide.
Headquartered in Madrid, Spain, the UNWTO encourages the implementation of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, to maximise tourism’s socio-economic contribution while minimising its possible negative impacts.
It is committed to promoting tourism as an instrument in achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
UNWTO generates market knowledge, promotes competitive and sustainable tourism policies and instruments, fosters tourism education and training, and works to make tourism an effective tool for development through technical assistance projects in more than 100 countries around the world.
It has a membership of 155 countries, six associate members and moré than 400 affiliate members representing the private sector, educational institutions, tourism associations and local tourism authorities.
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