UN secretary general Ban Ki-Moon will open the UNWTO General Assembly on 26 August 2013, while Zambian President Michael Sata is expected to officially close the world’s biggest tourism industry gathering on 28 August 2013
According to a programme released in Livingstone on 18 February 2013 by the Zambian minister of Tourism and Arts Sylvia Masebo, the General Assembly will be held from 24-29 August 2013 in Livingstone and the Zimbabwean town of Victoria Falls.
The activities of the General Assembly have been shared equally between Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The structure of the conference, which is expected to attract about 4,000 delegates from around the world, has since been unveiled following the meeting of the Local Organising Committee (LOC).
"We finalised the structure of the 20th session of the UNWTO General Assembly when we met in Madrid, Spain recently. We agreed that the opening session will take place in Zimbabwe while Zambia will host the closing session," said Masebo.
The first meeting of the Assembly will take place in Zambia on 24 August 2013 with the business community from 10:00 hours to 12:00 hours. Then there will be another meeting of the Commission for Africa in Zimbabwe from 14:30 hours to 16:00 hours. The following morning, Zimbabwe will host the meetings of the Commissions for the Pacific and South Asia.
At the same time, commissions from the European Union and Middle East will be meeting in Livingstone, Zambia.
"On the 26th of August, the UNWTO General Assembly Secretariat and staff will move to Zambia after the official opening by the UN Secretary General," added Masebo.
"The next day, Zambia will host a dinner for heads of delegation from 19 00 hours to 21 00 hours, which we are hoping will be graced by [Zambian] vice-president Guy Scott."
Nawa Mutumweno
