[2014]
EUROPEAN COUNCIL ON TOURISM AND TRADE (ECTT) VISIT TO ZIMBABWE Awards Handover Ceremony Familiarization Tour Courtesy Calls
Hosted By: Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry Zimbabwe Tourism Authority [29 May – 5 June 2014]
PREFACE The recent visit by the European Council on Tourism and Trade (ECTT) came as a follow-up to the conferment of Zimbabwe as the World Best Tourist Destination for 2014 and the Favourite Cultural Destination 2014. The latter being the highest tourism accolade bestowed on any destination based on Zimbabwe’s rich tourism product diversity, preservation of cultural heritage and promotion of community based tourism.
It is in this purview that the
awarding institution paid a visit to the country for the purpose of handing over the awards to His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, CDE R.G Mugabe.
His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, CDE R. G. Mug abe and the ECTT President Professor DR. A. Caragea pose for a photo while the Vice President Amai J. T. Mujuru, Minister of Touris m and Hospitality Ind ustry, Hon Eng. W. Mzembi and Minister of Sports Arts and Culture , Hon A. Lang a looks on and celebrating success.
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STRUCTURE OF THE VISIT The 7-Day visit by the ECTT delegation took various formats characterized by courtesy calls to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Senior Minister of State in the President’s office as well as the Vice President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Amai Joyce Mujuru. In all these meetings, the delegation expressed optimism for Zimbabwe’s potential in tourism development as the country’s tourism endowments are unique and incomparable to any destination.
From left: Hon Ionel Agrigoraei Romanian Senator and Chairman of the European Parliamentary Committee, Hon. W. Mzembi Minister of Touris m and Hospital ity industry, Vice President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Amai Joyce Mujuru, ECTT President, Professor, Dr A. Caragea and Prof. Dr Mircea Constantinescu Director of European Touris m Ac ademy as they pose for a picture after the courtesy call.
Familiarization tours were undertaken for the delegation’s appreciation of Zimbabwe’s tourism product base. The delegates managed to tour the Victoria 3| P a g e
Falls where they embarked on various activities such as flight of the Angels, tour of the crocodile farm, visit of the rain forest and elephant riding.
ECTT Delegation posing for a picture before embarking on the Flight of the Angels in Victoria F alls
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The team also visited the Great Zimbabwe where they were presented with an insightful history of Zimbabwe and its culture.
ECTT President introducing his delegation to the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs (Masvingo Province) Hon K. Bhasikiti before just before the tour of the Great Enclosure
The visit also entailed an appreciation of Agro tourism as the delegation visited the New Donnington farm in Norton. 5| P a g e
ECTT President, Professor, Dr A. Carag ea shares a lighter moment with his colleag ues Hon Ionel (Senator Agrigoraei Romanian Senator and Chairman of the European Parliamentary Committee) and Mr Matei during the tour of New Donnington farm in Norton.
This visit was mainly meant to expose the ECTT delegation to the successes of the Land Reform program which has been demonized mostly by the Western media.
INDUSTRY SUPPORT Prior to the visit, se veral meetings were held with industry operators in preparation for the visit. These meetings were held mostly to inform the industry of this visit as well as the meaning of the awards to the destination. The industry supported the visit through:
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Complementary Accommodation and meals (Meikles, Victoria Falls Hotel, Africa Albida Tourism, Cresta Sprayview, Flamboyant hotel)
Complementary / discounted vehicle hire (LED and Khanondo Safaris)
Complementary Cruise ( Zambezi Explorer)
Complementary activities ( Crocodile Farm visit / Elephant riding & Flight of the Angels)
Complementary Access into the Great Zimbabwe Monuments / Heroes Acre)
Rebated Air Tickets (HRE/VF/HRE)
Smooth airport reception and farewell
AWARDS CEREMONY The main thrust of the whole visit, as alluded earlier was the Awards handover ceremony which took place on Wednesday 4 June 2014 at the HICC. The ceremony attracted attendance of more than 500 delegates from the public sector to the private sector alike. In his remarks during the handover ceremony, the President of the ECTT Council, Professor Dr. Anton Caragea impressed upon Zimbabwe’s potential to be the powerhouse of tourism in Africa and that indeed Zimbabwe deserved the Awards.
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Thrust of President R. G. Mugabe’s Speech In his acceptance speech, President Mugabe acknowledged the conviction by the ECTT to see Zimbabwe prospering especially in the verge of negative publicity and sidelining. He reiterated the need for Zimbabwe to believe in its capacity, especially in the rich diverse tourism products the country is endowed with. The H.E. saw the awards as a wake up call to the nation on leveraging on the potential the country has. He proposed therefore the launch of the ‘Know yourself, Know your Zimbabwe campaign’ with the aim of creating knowledgeable citizens towards tourism wealth in Zimbabwe. Of interest was the President’s recognition of the role the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry plays in implementing innovative ideas that has seen Zimbabwe recognized and visible in many platforms.
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Group Photo after the ceremony
PUBLICITY The media played a pivotal role in creating public awareness of the ECTT’s visit to Zimbabwe as the covered preparations prior to the visit, delegation’s arrival, famil tours and courtesy calls undertaken and mostly the Awards ceremony. Negative publicity was witnessed prior to the visit as this embroiled the EU ambassador to Zimbabwe who at that point was not aware of this recognition. However, the visit served as an exonerating stance for Zimbabwe which then diverted all doubts to belief and confidence that indeed Zimbabwe had won the awards. Broadcast, print and online media covered the awards extensively with the publicity still continuing even to date. Below is a statistical re view of the articles published on the ECTT awards: 9| P a g e
Online Platforms that featured the Awards VOA
Zim,
Zimbojam,
shanghaidaily.com
(Xinhua),
ectt.webs.com,
harare24.com, swradioafrica.com, nehandaradio.com, zimbabweelection.com, zimeye.org,
zimdev.wordpress.com,
centruldiplomatic.wordpress.com,
africatime.com,
bepa.co.zw,
AllAfrica.com,
zimbbawesituation.org
and
newzimbabwe.com. Social media also played a pivotal role especially on platforms such as facebook, twitter and blogs.
Broadcast M edia ZTV ZBC Radio News and programmes (Tourism Today, Business Diary) Star Fm ZiFM Aljazeera Xinhua
Statistical Analysis Positive: Negative:
34 2 (covered on the Zimbabweelection.com and on the criticism of EU
awards) Fair:
3
Total Articles: 39 10 | P a g e
CONCLUSION Going forward, Zimbabwe is encouraged to leverage on these awards especially in all its marketing efforts as they can be a key to unlocking great tourism potential. For example, the previous winner of the awards, Laos PDR recorded an 8% increase in the number of incoming tourists during the year 2013/2014 because of these awards.
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Tour of the Heroes Acre 12 | P a g e