IT STARTED as a pipe dream, then it became reality and today, Zimbabwe and neighbour Zambia are on the brink of hosting the biggest event ever on the international tourism calendar – the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) General Assembly.
Report by Richard Muponde
On Saturday, the 20th session of the UNWTO General Assembly will kick off in Victoria Falls and Livingstone.
The UNWTO indaba is seemingly more important to Zimbabwe, as it gives a golden opportunity to clear its battered image. The world’s tourism family will have first-hand experience on what the country is all about. Reports that this year’s UNWTO conference attracted the highest number of delegates in the history of the organisation is a good springboard to achieve the cause.
Out of a total UNWTO membership of 165 countries, as of Monday this week, 147 countries had registered to attend the international tourism indaba, which ends next Thursday. “Zambia and Zimbabwe are very lucky,” UNWTO executive director Zoltan Somogyi said.
“This is the most visited UNWTO forum compared to those held in the past. We have more delegates registered.
“It is an opportunity for the two sister countries to promote their tourism and put the two destinations on the world map.”
The UNWTO General Assembly is a bi-annual tourism event that is held on a rotational basis among member states, meaning Zimbabwe will not be able to host this event in the next 360 years. Everything is at stake, from image to business, as the two hosting countries seek to market their tourism brands, as safe and worth-visiting tourist destinations. The UNWTO indaba is about unlocking the tourism value of Zimbabwe and Zambia’s tourist attractions to the world for long-term benefits.
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Tourism players yesterday confirmed that the conference was a good platform to market Zimbabwe as a safe tourist destination and an image booster. Chairman of Gwayi Conservancy, Langton Masunda, was certain that the Zimbabwean image would improve.
“I have been in the tourism industry for the past 25 years. We are top of the class tourism destination, endowed with natural resources and wildlife,” he said.
“In terms of conservancies, we are strict and we jealously guard our wildlife and the conference will make tourism the highest contributor to the fiscus, as it was before.”
National president of Employers’ Association — Tourism and Safari Operators and public relations manager at Shearwater Adventures, Clement Mukwasi, said the UNWTO conference was an endorsement of Zimbabwe by the international community as a safe destination. In 1996 Zimbabwe tourist arrivals reached a peak of over 2,3 million.
