United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) secretary normal Zurab Pololikashvili yesterday visited President Hage Geingob to transient him on the two-day UNWTO regional convention on model Africa.
The gathering hosted by Namibia began within the capital yesterday and ends tomorrow. The convention, themed ‘Strengthening Model Africa for the Swift Restoration of the Tourism Sector’, might solely appeal to 9 tourism ministers, 15 specialists and stakeholders because of the Covid-19 pandemic, Pololikashvili informed Geingob.
“We needed to make the convention larger however because of the Covid-19 pandemic that’s not solely affecting Namibians however all throughout the universe, we could not,” he informed Geingob, who for the primary time yesterday appeared in public after he and his spouse Monica examined constructive for Covid-19 in the direction of the tip of Could. He stated the convention, the primary of its sort, is historic for Africa and it’ll rebrand Africa as a wanted vacationer vacation spot.
Pololikashvili additional thanked Geingob for his assist, which noticed him being re-elected because the secretary normal of the UNWTO for a four-year tenure late final 12 months.
He additionally handed Geingob a presidential award in recognition of his robust dedication to fostering tourism as a key driver of sustainable and inclusive growth.
On his half, Geingob thanked Pololikashvili for the courtesy name, including that he will likely be attending the convention at the moment.
Tourism for inclusive progress identifies branding as a serious space to assist create a constructive picture of Africa as a tourism vacation spot that helps the efforts of particular person international locations and corporations. It additionally serves to relate a number of constructive tales about Africa and make tourism a driver of growth.
Actions in Namibia’s tourism sector fell steeply in 2020, largely affected by the Covid-19-induced journey restrictions and social distancing issues.
The sector is estimated to have contracted by 33.1% in 2020, after registering a marginal constructive progress charge of two.8% in 2019, in line with Financial institution of Namibia estimates.
The contraction was manifested in sharp declines within the variety of mattress and room nights offered by the hospitality business, in addition to in regional and worldwide passenger arrivals at Namibian airports.
