UNWTO roars into life tomorrow

Isdore Guvamombe Tourism Matrix
How time flies? Two years ago, at the 19th session of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation General Assembly in Guengju, South Korea, Zimbabwe and Zambia won the bid to co-host the 20th session of the General Assembly in Victoria Falls and Livingstone.As part of the delegation to South Korea, led by outgoing Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Walter Mzembi, there was a lot of celebration, pomp, funfair and zest but two years seemed a very long period. Tomorrow, the dream comes true and Zimbabwe is ready to showcase its side of the bargain to give the world tourism family, a treat of its life, an African treatment and indeed an African flair.

It is an African event and the first ever in Africa south of the Sahara and the second ever UNWTO General Assembly to be held on African soil.

Zimbabwe might never host this event again within the next 360 years, given that the bi-annual event rotates on equal basis between member states. The time to prove to the world is now and the time to host the event is now. All systems, from service delivery to the media, have now been activated to ensure that the event is properly marketed and packaged to meet international standards and to ensure that the event exudes a complete African aura.

That the event comes a few weeks after Zimbabwe did not disappoint the world tourism family by holding peaceful, fair and credible elections makes the event even more important in that it give the new Government a platform to brand itself and identify with international tourism.

This is the grand occasion to promote the brand “Zimbabwe: A World of Wonders” that the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority introduced two years ago to replace the old battered and religiously insensitive old brand of “Zimbabwe, Africa’s Paradise”.

The grand event is slated for August 24-29 in the twin resort towns of Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe and Livingstone in Zambia. More than 1 200 delegates, among them ministers of tourism, tourism authority chief executives, tourist wholesalers, hoteliers and businesspeople from the 186 member states of the UN tourism family are expected to attend.

More than 100 media houses will be represented and Zimbabwe has accredited them to ensure that they operate freely. The opening ceremony will be in Victoria Falls, while the closing ceremony will be in Livingstone.

A single visa will be used for foreign delegates that will enable them to travel between Zimbabwe and Zambia without hitches. The only other African country to host the mega event was Senegal in 2007. As per norm, the hosting Minister of Tourism automatically assumes the presidency of the UNWTO and since Zimbabwe and Zambia, are co-hosting, the two ministers – Mzembi and Sylvia Masebo of Zambia – will assume the co-presidency of the UNWTO, until the 21st session.

The climax of Zimbabwe’s influence in the UNWTO was winning the bid to co-host with Zambia the general assembly, ahead of rich nations like Jordan and Russia that had also submitted their bids.

Therefore, the UNWTO General Assembly gives Zimbabwe the best opportunity to showcase its tourism offerings and also to prove that it is not a rogue state, as some Western countries would love to paint it.

The massive projects and infrastructure developments that took place in Victoria Falls ahead of the UNWTO General Assembly will certainly usher in a new dimension to the country’s prime tourist destination and redefine it.

Among the infrastructure upgrades in Victoria Falls since it won the bid to host UNWTO, are the rehabilitation of the airport, roads and the lighting- up of the bridge which is expected to last 15 years. The marquee built to accommodate delegates to the general assembly will place the country in a strong position in the convention hosting business.

“These will make the town a well sought after destination post-conference period along the lines of the Niagara Falls and the Grand Canyon, we have decided that the marquee built for the general assembly will not be dismantled but will be used for other conventions and conferences.

“We have asked the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority to set up a conventions bureau and ensure that Zimbabwe will be able to compete with the likes of Cape Town and Durban in South Africa in terms of tourism,” he said.

Zimbabwe will use the UNWTO General Assembly to unveil the master plan for a 1 200-hectare game park Government had designated for Victoria Falls.The park will represent Government’s desire to showcase the country’s flora and fauna and also to preserve the Victoria Falls as a prime tourist destination. The time to host is now and the time to prove our worthy to the world is now.

We have successfully held credible elections and we cannot fail to host the UNWTO General Assembly.