THE Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry will use International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development to promote inclusivity in the industry.
The United Nations (UN) General Assembly declared the year 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development in recognition of tourism as one of the key pillars of economic growth as well as a transformative force for improving the quality of life of millions of people worldwide.
This is meant to promote, among other things, changes in policies, business practices and consumer behaviour towards sustainable tourism contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Zimbabwe seeks to promote, through tourism, sustainable economic growth, social inclusiveness, employment, poverty reduction, resource efficiency, environmental protection, cultural values, diversity and heritage, mutual understanding, peace and security.
A number of programmes and activities will be implemented throughout the year in support of the UN Declaration.
The United Nations secretary-general, Antonio Guterres says the success of 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development must be underpinned by, among other factors, tourism.
Outgoing UNWTO secretary-general Taleb Rifai described 2017 as a ‘unique opportunity to build a more responsible and committed tourism sector that can capitalise (on) its immense potential in terms of economic prosperity, social inclusion, peace and understanding, cultural as well as environmental preservation’.
Currently, the sector accounts for seven percent of worldwide exports, one in 11 jobs and 10 percent of the world’s GDP, hence if well managed, the sector can foster inclusive economic growth, social inclusiveness and the protection of cultural and natural assets.
The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority has since drawn a concept paper lining up activities for the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development.
“The activities are hinged on bringing benefits of sustainability in the segments of socio-economic and environmental spheres,” reads the paper.
“The programming is participatory in nature as it brings the tourism industry and the general business world to the fore as well as the communities to participate and experience the rationale for sustainable tourism.
“The activities and programmes will include the national launch on June 2, Sustainable Tourism Quiz Show, Green Tourism Awards, Clean-up Campaign of tourism sites, Sustainable Tourism lecture series and Sustainable Tourism exhibition at different fairs among other activities.”
The year is also a great and a rare opportunity for the country to bring awareness and education to the tourism industry and general public on tourism’s contribution to the development agenda.
The tourism industry has generally been viewed as a sector for the elite but pundits contend the industry is one of the best routes to achieving prosperity for all.
“Sustainable Tourism is a vehicle to achieve social, economic and environmental justices with benefits accruing to the individuals, businesses, communities and nation at large,” said tour operator James Mandizha.
Zimbabwe has identified the tourism sector as a low hanging fruit.
After decades of battering by economic sanctions, economic recovery is hinged on this sector which boasts some of the world’s best tourism products.
The country is in the process of developing a National Tourism Masterplan.
The process, led by Keois Consultants with funding from the African Development Bank, is at an advanced stage with more than 1 000 stakeholders having been consulted in a bid to craft a practical and implementable masterplan.
The country has been operating without a tourism masterplan since independence only guided by the Tourism Act of 1996 and the National Tourism Policy of 2012.
Tourism was previously housed as a department in different ministries up until 2009 when it became a stand-alone Ministry.
Once finalised, the National Tourism Masterplan is expected to last up to 2035.
Speaking at the presentation of the draft masterplan, Deputy Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry Anastancia Ndhlovu said a plan was critical to growth of the sector.
“There is need for Zimbabwe to develop an over-arching National Tourism Masterplan to guide tourism development. There is an urgent call to move towards sustainable tourism which can benefit the current generation without disadvantaging future generations. There is an exercise being undertaken to develop these regional spatial developments and identify bankable projects,” Ndhlovu said.
“The envisaged development of new products identified in this masterplan will assist in product diversification and help spread out the benefits of tourism, thereby achieving growth with equity in our sector.”
The country has since rebranded itself from ‘Africa’s Paradise’ to ‘Zimbabwe — A world of wonders’.
And authorities have embarked on a massive awareness campaign in a bid to grow market share and lure back tourists to a country that for years suffered negative publicity by the West that has been seeking regime change after being angered by the Land Reform Programme.