Zambia and Zimbabwe light up the stage for UNWTO

The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) General Assembly, jointly hosted by Zambia and Zimbabawe, was officially opened on Sunday evening at the Victoria Falls Hotel. The assembly is the best attended on record, with hotels and lodges on both sides of the river fully booked for the duration of the event.

President Mugabe and his Zambian counterpart Mr Michael Sata committed themselves to the use of tourism to drive economic growth in the two countries and challenged African countries to open up borders through the introduction of regional univisa or visa free regimes. The call by the two Heads of State and Government came as United Nations World Tourism Organisation Secretary General Mr Taleb Rifai declared that the 20th session of the UNWTO general assembly being co-hosted by Zambia and Zimbabwe in Victoria Falls is the best attended in the history of the organisation.

Officially opening the 20th session of the UNWTO here last night, President Mugabe and President Sata said their governments were committed to using tourism as a driver for economic development within the sector and surrounding communities. "The hosting of this United Nations specialised agency's general assembly constitutes for us an important milestone in the economic history of our two countries, Zambia and Zimbabwe, and in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region," said President Mugabe.

Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe and President Michael Sata officially open the 20th session of the UNWTO General assembly which the two countries are co-hosting in Victoria Falls (Source: News Day)

The assembly was declared by UNWTO Secretary General, Taleb Rifai as the best attended in the history of the organisation, with a record 900 delegates from the media fraternity, 121 full delegates from the member states, 140 delegates from all over the world, 49 foreign ministers and 750 other delegates attending the event. Rifai challenged delegates to actively participate in the tourism indaba stating that UNWTO was committed to promoting tourism growth in sub Saharan Africa. “We affirm our commitment to place tourism high on the political and economic agenda and to ensure that we co-operate ever more to promote policies that ensure sustainable and exclusive growth in this industry,” he said.

Through a video message played on his behalf during the opening ceremony, United Nations Secretary General, Ban ki Moon called on those attending the general assembly to deliberate on how best their countries could contribute to sustainable tourism. “Tourism is an undisputed driver of economic growth which can benefit people. If managed sustainably, it will assist countries to meet their millennium development goals which we hope to achieve,” he said.

President Mugabe gave a welcoming speech at the ceremony and said it was critical that Africa evolves strategies that effectively lure tourists to the continent.

"Your organization’s emphasis on sustainable tourism has great resonance with the importance Zimbabwe places on the principles of development with equity and empowerment of the masses.

"I must conclude by putting on record our appreciation for the assistance that the UNWTO has extended to us this far as a region. This of late included technical support extended to SADC, through RETOSA, whereby the latter has received assistance towards the establishment of a Tourism Satellite Accounting System (TSAS). The TSAS will help us to fully account for the full contribution by tourism to our national and regional GDP.

"I also note with great satisfaction that the UNWTO has approved community based initiatives for Zimbabwe, and their Sustainable Tourism for the reduction of poverty (STEP) program will run under the theme “Enhance the participation of youth and women in the tourism sector.” This is an effective empowering tool which will promote equity and access to tourism revenue. It also resonates resoundingly with the people empowering initiatives that my government is pursuing.

"The thematic thrusts you intend to pursue in this conference are summarized by the catch phrases 'Open borders and open skies, removing hurdles to the growth of tourism in Africa' are very apt in our times."

“There is no way Africa can increase its portion of the global tourism cake without first promoting intra-African travel. The need for open borders, through regional block visa regimes, which we are trying to implement as UNIVISA through RETOSA, will not only allow easier travel amongst SADC citizens, it will make it easier for the long haul intercontinental visitor and investor,” said President Mugabe. “The type of seamless border between Livingstone town and Victoria Falls town that has been put in place for purposes of this conference should become the rule rather than the exception, for all adjacent touristic border communities throughout SADC, and ultimately throughout Africa."

Zambia President, Michael Chilufya Sata congratulated the two co-host countries for the hard work they had done in preparing for the event stating that the co-hosting was a clear testimony of the two countries commitment of exploiting regional tourism.

Communications company Telecel stole the show by illuminating the Victoria Falls Bridge as part of its contribution to the hosting of the event.

See our Facebook page for more information and images.

Sources: News Day, ZimEye, eTurbo News, All Africa,

Livingstone welcomes UNWTO

All images courtesy of Walk on the Wild Side

Read more in the latest issue:
Zambia & Zimbabwe hailed in the region (ZT, Issue 13, June 2013)
What is UNWTO? (ZT, Issue 13, June 2013)
Countdown to UNWTO (ZT, Issue 13, June 2013)

Read more about the region in our destination guide:
Livingstone
Victoria Falls

Victoria Falls welcomes UNWTO

Chief Mvuthu welcomes the UNTWTO

Barbara Mzembi opens the parade - wearing beautiful earrings designed by Victoria Falls' very own Ndau Collection.

Read more in the latest issue:
Zambia & Zimbabwe hailed in the region (ZT, Issue 13, June 2013)
What is UNWTO? (ZT, Issue 13, June 2013)
Countdown to UNWTO (ZT, Issue 13, June 2013)

Read more about the region in our destination guide:
Livingstone
Victoria Falls

Welcome UNWTO!

Friday 23 August saw Livingstone, Zambia, and Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, celebrating their opportunity to show case their destinations and welcome the UNWTO delegates and VIPs to the jointly hosted General Assembly. Residents and visitors alike lined streets, waved flags and danced as drum majorettes, traditional dancers and local businesses paraded down the roads. Zambezi Traveller takes pleasure in sharing with you some pictures from the day.

About UNWTO

The United Nations World Tourism Organisation is the agency of the United Nationsresponsible for the development of international policiesfor the tourism sector, to facilitate its contribution to global economic growth. It currently has 160 member countries.

The UNWTO General Assembly is held biannually on a rotational basis. Participants are member states’policy-makers from relevant ministries and government agencies, supported by the private sector.

UNWTO engages regional and local organisations,academia and research institutions andcivil society in its quest to develop a competitive and productive world tourism industry. UNWTO seeks to promote sustainable policies and practices which optimise the use of natural resources, both consumptive and non-consumptive; to advance respect for the socio-cultural authenticity of host communities and to provide socio-economic benefits for all.

Thank you Greg Shaw for your wonderful pictures from Livingstone.

 

 Image courtesy of Walk on the Wild Side

Image courtesy of Walk on the Wild Side

Image courtesy of Walk on the Wild Side

 Image courtesy of Walk on the Wild Side

And in Victoria Falls...

 

 

 

 

Read more in the latest issue:
Zambia & Zimbabwe hailed in the region (ZT, Issue 13, June 2013)
What is UNWTO? (ZT, Issue 13, June 2013)
Countdown to UNWTO (ZT, Issue 13, June 2013)

Read more about the region in our destination guide:
Livingstone
Victoria Falls

UNWTO Congress - Increased traffic at bridge border post

Update from Wild Horizons (August 2013).

Due to the UNWTO congress being held in Victoria falls and Livingstone, between the 20th and 30th of August, we are expecting an increased amount of traffic at the border post between the two destinations. Therefore we expect delays will be experienced on transfers between Livingstone and Victoria Falls. We will adjust transfer times accordingly to allow for these delays, however, it may be pertinent to advise guests that they may experience delays in their transfers over this period.

Victoria Falls Canopy Tour

A big thank you to all supporters of the Vic Falls Canopy tour! This 'budget friendly' activity is proving to be very popular with families and groups. Since opening on June the 1st, over 1,000 guests have enjoyed this unique experience.

Zambezi Traveller Directory:
Wild Horizons Activities
Wild Horizons Accommodation

Read more about the region in our destination guide:
Livingstone Destination Profile
Victoria Falls

Read more latest news from across the region in the Zambezi Traveller eNewsletter:
Zambezi Traveller eNewsletter (No5, Aug 2013)

Download the latest issue of the
Zambezi Traveller

Poachers, Not Animals, Pose the 'Real Danger' in Victoria Falls National Park

From: DIPNOTE The US Department of State Official Blog
By: Sharon Hudson-Dean
Date: 13 July 2013

Link to source webpage here.

“We’re going to fan out, like a ripple moving through the bush.”

With those instructions, our group of American diplomats made a long line, carefully stepping through the long, yellow grass of the Victoria Falls National Park. We were less than five miles from the spectacular Falls, but in the park it was hot, dusty, and dangerous.

The park is home to elephants, African buffalo, lions, leopards, warthogs, and many other animals. While the animals certainly pose some danger, the real dangers we were looking out for were snares. Using nothing more than copper wire, often stolen from telephone lines, poachers fashion crude but effective nooses looped between scrub trees to catch animals. A snare can bring down a 600 pound Kudu antelope, leaving it disabled and exposed to the elements where it will take three or more days to die of dehydration. Snare poachers are generally local villagers -- an estimated 1.9-3.5 million tons of illegal bush meat come from snares each year in Africa -- but the locals share the bush with well-equipped commercial wildlife traffickers after elephant tusk and rhino horn for the lucrative Asian market. In addition to animals, wood and other natural resources are also illegally taken from the national park, leading to large-scale habitat degradation. One local conservationist estimates that 80 percent of curios bought by tourists are made from wood stolen from national parkland.

The Victoria Falls Anti-Poaching Unit (VFAPU), a partnership between the private sector tourism industry, the National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, and the Zimbabwe Republic Police, is working hard to rebalance the area in favor of both local people and animals. Since its formation in 1999, VFAPU has removed 22,000 snares and arrested over 600 serious poachers. They have successfully lobbied for more stringent laws against poaching and helped destitute locals who might otherwise have become poachers find other work. VFAPU conducts scout trainings and reaches out to schools and tourists with education programs.

Though these efforts have made a great difference, the long-term answers to this problem are sustainable development, education, and community involvement. U.S. Embassies throughout sub-Saharan Africa are working with African authorities to build effective, integrated approaches to wildlife conservation. Fighting wildlife trafficking, which is directly tied to transnational crime, is a U.S. foreign policy priority.

“The whole thing with poaching,” says Charles Brightman, founder of VFAPU, “is that it is not sustainable - there is no thought for tomorrow. No wildlife means no visitors and no jobs.”

Link to source webpage here.

See also the Victoria Falls Anti-Poaching Unit's website.

Ambassadors for Conservation

Charles Brightman discusses the work of the Victoria Falls Anti Poaching Unit with the United States Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Mr David Bruce Wharton, and his Zambian counter-part, Mr Mark Storella, who last week toured the neighbouring towns of Livingstone and Victoria Falls. The Ambassadors were promoting Zimbabwe and Zambia as tourist destinations ahead of August's UNWTO meeting, to be jointly hosted by the two countries.

The Ambassadors took the time to meet up with Victoria Falls Anti Poaching Unit rangers and members of Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) to learn about our combined efforts in fighting poaching, and were commended by locals for supporting wildlife conservation initiatives.

Visit the VFAPU page in the Zambezi Traveller Directory.

You can also follow the work of the Victoria Falls Anti-Poaching Unit on Facebook.

US Ambassadors tour Victoria Falls

Today the United States Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Mr David Bruce Wharton, and his Zambian counter-part, Mr. Mark Storella, met on the Victoria Falls Bridge from where they will start a bicycle ride touring various locations both in Livingstone, Zambia and Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe to promote the destination prior to the co-hosting the UNWTO Annual Congress in August this year. Over the next few days they will participate in tourism activities, tour the Victoria Falls both from the Zambia and Zimbabwe sides, visit schools, meet local business men and women, chat to local artists and join the Victoria Falls Ant-Poaching Unit in a conservation exercise.

Zimbabwe Ambassador David Bruce Wharton started his cycle from the Big Tree, Victoria Falls.

Lister, from Wild Horizons, and Nyasha, from Khanondo Safaris, prepare the bikes.

The Ambassador and his delegation starting their tour.

Ambassador David Bruce Wharton proudly sporting his 'Buffalo' bike, made in Zimbabwe

'Team Zimbabwe' meets 'Team Zambia' on the Victoria Falls Bridge. Ambassador Storella in the red and Ambassador Wharton in the blue.