Harare — THE National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe has been urged to fully develop the tourism potential of museums and monuments in the country so that they can meaningfully feed into the national tourism economic recovery plan.

Speaking at International Museums Day commemorations yesterday, acting Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry Webster Shamu said Government was cognisant of the critical role played by the department and would continue to support its development programmes.

"As NMMZ gears itself towards contributing meaningfully to the revival of the tourism sector of our economy, I urge them to fully develop the tourism potential of museums and monuments.

"Cultural heritage is a major contributor to Gross Domestic Product and the developmental aspirations of Zimbabwe, warranting our support and inclusion in the Short-Term Emergency Recovery Plan for Zimbabwe.

"I, therefore, challenge NMMZ and other players in the cultural heritage sector to develop a Cultural Heritage Strategic Recovery Plan for Zimbabwe to guide Government, the private sector and other key stakeholders in fulfilling STERP targets," he said.

The commemorations were held under the theme "Museums and Tourism".

Minister Shamu said through close partnership between NMMZ, the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority and other stakeholders, cultural heritage centres could enjoy high patronage during the 2010 World Cup soccer finals to be held in South Africa.

He implored the cultural heritage sector to come up with time-framed programmes to complement Government's 100-Day Plan.

In the plan, the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry had been tasked to establish a Tourism Development (Revival) Fund to finance infrastructure development, designate the whole country as a Tourism Development Zone and to establish a National Tourism Facilitation Committee.

Minister Shamu said museums needed to encourage the active participation of local communities in heritage management planning.

International Museums Day, held annually on May 18, was set aside by the International Council of Museums in 1977 to celebrate and recognise the role of museums in society.