Story by Josephine Mugiyo, Diplomatic Correspondent
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has commended the United Nations Tourism and other key stakeholders who are working to ensure Africa’s tourism sector grows against all odds.
Zimbabwe made history on Friday by hosting the inaugural United Nations Tourism Regional Forum on Gastronomy Tourism for Africa.
The event, held under the patronage of First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa, a passionate advocate for gastronomy, aims to position Zimbabwe as a culinary destination.
Gastronomy looks at the coordination of food, drink and culture, and is key to a country that needs to maximize on these aspects to offer its unique cuisines to tourists who will be looking to experience the world through tastes.
When President Mnangagwa officially opened the conference this Friday, he acknowledged the UN’s role in promoting African tourism.
“‘I commend the UN Tourism and all stakeholders who continue to push the boundaries and re-ignite Africa’s tourism sector leveraging on the continent’s unique natural and cultural offerings, including our foods and cuisines,” he said.
President Mnangagwa also urged delegates to embrace the internet in marketing Africa
“The internet continues to advance and it is being utilised as a powerful tool for advertising and marketing especially in the travel , tourism and hospitality sector. Riding on the wide use of ICT we must see more people from the continent hosting food shows on contemporary media platforms to advance our unique cuisines,” he added.
The President highlighted the strides made by his government to develop a cluster-based strategy in tourism and hospitality in order to ensure maximum gains are derived.
“Tourism is an intricately integrated system of many actors who rely on each other . It is made up of important value chains in the local economy. As such, to sustainably grow the tourism and hospitality sector my government has developed a cluster based strategy with gastronomy tourism being part of the culture and heritage cluster,” noted President Mnangagwa.
Among the people who attended the inaugural forum on gastronomy were the First Ladies of Serbia and Angola who were hosted by their counterpart, Zimbabwe’s First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa.
Key highlights included Amai’s Kitchen, which had various traditional cuisines.
