THE starting gun will not be fired for the next seven months, but the buzz on television, newspapers and radio programmes; the music galas, roadshows and infrastructure touch-ups, all indicate that Zimbabwe is preparing for the co-hosting, with Zambia, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation 2013 General Assembly. The event is slated for the last week of August and the three UNTWO inspectors, executive director and head of delegation, Zottan Smoggy, Deputy Director for Africa, Helder Thomas and director of programmes Pearl Blanca have expressed satisfaction with Zimbabwe's preparation so far.
When Zimbabwe won the bid to co-host with Zambia, at the 20th session of the General Assembly in South Korea, two years ago, before the ink was even dry, many sceptics were asking about the benefits of hosting the mega event, probably the only such tourism event in about the next 400 years.
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