Minister of Tourism and Hospitality for Zimbabwe Dr. Walter Mzembi addressed the General Assembly of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in Chengdu, China on Wednesday.

This is a transcript of his presentation:

Excellencies, Colleague Ministers, Ladies, and Gentlemen

– Let me Congratulate the People’s Republic of China on its grand hosteship of the 22nd GA of the UNWTO and excellent service and hospitality rendered to our delegations, and of course, it’s assumption of the Presidency of the 22nd session.

-I know the painstaking and elaborate work and resources invested in such projects, having been host myself for the 20th Session for which I thank you for your support then.

– Let me proceed to note the inauguration of the World Tourism Alliance last night, an inevitable happening gave your scale and projected leadership as an international source market and unparalleled network of alliances. It’s only natural that you would enter this space of nongovernmental and business organization of global tourism, perhaps overdue. We pray the long-term objectives are to complement gaps identified especially in global funding and tourism development clearly missing in our current UNWTO. I hope this will strengthen UNWTO going forward and not duplicate what it is already doing or what other organisations are ceased with already as some of your founding articles may seem to suggest.

– And still on this subject I would also plead for inclusivity, especially of the emerging economies , there is nothing global of course without Africa , if you miss Africa you have missed the world, or at least it’s 1.2 Billion people market, and I hope you can hastily include those missing at the very beginning in your structures to inspire confidence and improve the global appeal of the organisation

-Zimbabwe is captured in the New York Times of the January 2015 edition as “a once avoided destination, now a must visit destination ”

– Rated at no 13, together with Rwanda at no 14 as Africa ‘s top attractions in the Conté Naste Magazine, top 17 destinations for 2017, this country which hosts and shares the majestic Victoria Falls with Zambia, is one of the Natural Wonders of the World. Our chief hospitality product is peace , safety and security .

– Zimbabwe makes the claim to a 33 year tourist safety record, with not a single tourist life lost to conflict or war nor insecurity since 1983!

– Today Zimbabwe is a $1billion tourist economy set to grow to a $3 billion economy by year 2020, employs over 300000 people directly and indirectly .

– The Country shares seven tranfrontier conservation boundary areas developed to the scale of the ecosystem, with neighbours , South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia, Botswana , Namibia, and Angola , and has sound biodiversity policies which host a flourishing wildlife population and a diverse flora in its ecosystems.

– Beyond its traditional markets in Europe Zimbabwe has developed strong bilateral relations with other parts of the world and has a BRICS growth strategy anchored by China whom it has granted a visa on arrival dispensation . Zimbabwe is largely an open destination with most countries in the world enjoying this visa on arrival preference.

– How does one access Zimbabwe from China??. You can be connected from OR Tambo , Johannesburg or Cape Town to any destination in Zimbabwe, Harare, and VF included in just over an hour, 15 flights a day.

– or via Dubai, a direct flight of 8 hours to Harare or VF

– The World Climate Agency at some stage rated Zimbabwe as host of the best climate on the globe, No natural Disasters except incessant droughts now mitigated by irrigation development. Google Zimbabwe at your own leisure to understand why Zimbabwe has been such a resilient product notwithstanding the adversity it suffered at some stage. We are the most endowed country in mineral wealth. As a colonial state, we were founded by the Rudd Concession because of the attraction of our rich natural resources and fertile soils. Ask the Chinese here they will confirm how they turned our adversity into an opportunity for themselves. Don’t be left out in this modern day Eldorado to my country.

– Turning Global

1)We reaffirm our thrust on finding a sustainable solution to securing peace for Tourism and it’s facilitation by the Security Cluster, and urge the Secretariat to facilitate more relevant engagements and interfaces for this sector to make its case. Continuing to meet alone and reciting our challenges will not resolve this challenge.

2) We urge practical operationalisation of the SDGs, As an example Africa will need 660 billion euro a year to operationalise the SDGs, for the next coming years until 2030 , in order to create 20million jobs a year to deal with illegal migration into Europe and other parts of the world , yet our ODA support is just 60billion Euro a year. How do we cover this gap? We have the biodiversity product, people , poor people, who are your greatest prospect and asset to a future source market if we develop a middle class out of them, turn them into tourists not migrants. A generation ago there was no tourist from China, no-one wanted to receive you, today we outdo each other to receive you, with some countries giving you up to 10 year multiple entry visas, totally inconceivable a few years ago, WHY, because out of your poor, emerged a middle class of 400million people, out of which 128m today constitute the world ‘s largest source market. 4 billion trips are done internally, serious economic kinetics at play. To keep our people engaged at home we, therefore, need to discuss serious investment in the tourism sector in Africa and other developing economies to help in the elimination of joblessness, in itself a threat to security, because idle minds concoct terrorism, we have to give youthful lives a meaning to mitigate this major challenge .
So lip service to resolutions on SDGs that does not translate into practical solutions will make us irrelevant in Cabinet tables where we seek accommodation. Let’s demonstrate Tourism’s greater relevance going forward.

Finally, I want to thank you for the honor to champion reform and modernization with regards to elective issues around the SG post. It is this post that gathers us every two years in this manner, to listen principally to this person who administers the organisation between elective congresses and keeps us relevant to the world, even the best of white papers executed by an inappropriate choice, our collective choice can become for lack of a better expression a black paper. So this is going to be the best decision of the 106th EC, notwithstanding the acrimony that gave birth to it yesterday, and a lasting legacy of the outgoing SG, I wish it had come sooner though. I pushed it not out of self-interest, NO, but because it was the best thing to do for our organization, someone had to carry the Cross and burden, because that is what leadership is all about. I opted to champion and magnify the cause because I admire the good work Taleb has done in the last decade. I know it because I have been around long enough, almost a decade nearly matching your service as SG. Genuine friendship is built on honest feedback, no matter how nasty it may appear to those who may be unable to comprehend issues at the time. Equally, China can claim some credit too, being a world case study and Champion of Reform itself , so we have no choice in this regard than to embrace change. In conclusion no one appreciates Taleb more than Zimbabwe for standing by my country at its worst and bringing the GA to Zimbabwe , the rest is history . His name is indelibly captured in the memories of our people. I thank you , and God bless you all.

Known as a risk and crisis management expert, former head of Israel Tourism in Australia, Dr David Beirman Ph.D joined the recent debate on the recently concluded UNWTO General Assembly and wrote:

In recent months there has been considerable debate in some sections of the travel industry media about the upcoming appointment of a successor to the UN World Tourism Organization’s Secretary General, Dr Taleb Rifai. Between 11-16 September, at the UNWTO’s General assembly meeting in Chengdu, China, the next UNWTO Secretary-General will be nominated and a vote will be held requiring a two third’s majority. I make no personal judgement about the nominee Mr Zurab Pololikashvili. I have never met him and know little about him apart from the fact that he has considerable political and foreign affairs experience. When he served Georgia’s Minister for economic development (2009-10), tourism to Georgia grew on his watch.

However, there is no doubt that his nomination has aroused controversy. His direct involvement with the global tourism industry is limited compared to Dr Rifai and his nomination has attracted outspoken critics and supporters. However, the concern that every tourism industry professional should have is that the leaders of tourism’s two major global bodies, the UN World Tourism Organisation and the World Travel and Tourism Council are people who are widely recognised and respected as industry leaders.

Over the past few years the UNWTO has benefited from the wise and diplomatic leadership of Taleb Rifai, a former and well respected tourism Minister of Jordan. This was counterbalanced by the enlightened leadership of David Scowsill who was a widely respected CEO of the World Travel and Tourism Council. Rifai and Scowsill established an alliance between their respective global organisations which greatly strengthened the global advocacy of the global tourism industry over the past 8 years. An alliance between the political and the business wings of global tourism is vital for tourism to attract political support around the world.

The replacement of the WTTC’s former CEO David Scowsill by Ms Gloria Guevara Manzo has been widely welcomed. Ms Guevara was a former tourism minister of Mexico and has an extensive background in airlines and GDS companies. She has long been a prominent figure in world tourism. Her appointment maintains the WTTC’s commitment to professional leadership. The question that the global tourism industry needs to address is whether Mr Pololikashvili will be able to maintain the very high standards of the UNWTO’s tourism leadership set by Taleb Rifat and maintain the alliance with the WTTC.

Since Mr Pololikashvili secures the position of UNWTO Secretary general it will be vital for all members of the UNWTO and the wider global tourism industry to unite and support him. The global tourism industry cannot afford the fragmentation which weakened its global leadership in the past. It will also be important for other global tourism organizations, especially the WTTC to express their willingness to maintain the alliance between the world’s key tourism bodies which has served global tourism so well over the past few years. The global tourism industry has a number of shared common challenges including security, sustainability. a commitment to ethical business practices and the sharing of technological expertise. These are most effectively addressed when the key global tourism associations are working together.