NewsDay |Thursday September 27 2018 S1 2 0 1 8 TWouroismr lDda y WTD2018: Using digital tech for tourism development ORLD Tourism Day 2018 is a rate, on a near-constant basis in or- UNWTO unique opportunity to raise der to remain competitive. has partnered with the awareness on the potential In addition, the tourism sector’s contribution of digital tech- cross-cutting nature extends its lev- Hungarian Tourism Agency and the nologies to sustainable tour- el of responsibility to use techno- Foreign Affairs and International ismW development, while providing a platform logical change and digitalisation to for investment, partnerships and collabora- help engender a more economical- tion towards a more responsible and inclusive ly and socially sustainable, inclu- Trade ministry to hold the official tourism sector. sive and environmentally-friendly Digital advances are transforming how we future. celebration of World Tourism Day connect and inform ourselves, transforming — UNWTO our behaviour, and encouraging innovation 2018 in Budapest and sustainable, responsible growth strate- gies. Understanding the growing economic, soci- etal and environmental impacts of technolo- gy and innovation in tourism if our sector is to sustain continuous and inclusive growth in line with the Sustainable Development Goals TATENDATATENDA SAFARISSAFARIS of the United Nations. Budapest is a classical European capital committed to the digital future — the perfect stage for this year’s celebration of tourism. Tourism and the Digital Transformation is the theme of this year’s World Tourism Day (#WTD2018). UNWTO is delighted to partner with the Hungarian Tourism Agency and the Foreign Affairs and International Trade ministry to hold the official celebration of World Tourism Day 2018 in Budapest Digitally-advanced tourism sector can im- prove entrepreneurship, inclusion, local com- munity empowerment and efficient resource management, amongst other important devel- opment objectives. This year’s WTD will help to further explore opportunities provided to tourism by techno- logical advances including big data, artificial intelligence and digital platforms. In June 2018, in anticipation of WTD and to give visibility to innovative ideas capable of revolutionising the way we travel and en- joy tourism, the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and Globalia launched the 1st UN- WTO Tourism Startup Competition. The start-ups with the best projects will be announced as semi-finalists during the WTD official celebration in Budapest. Today, people and businesses connect, ex- change information and execute transactions in ways never before imagined. The combination of digital platforms, user- generated content and feedback, social media integration, global positioning services, and the use of big data and artificial intelligence, has transformed the way people experience, consume and share information. This is the result of successive advances in telecommunications, computers, databases, networks, Internet, mobile and wireless tech- nology, global positioning systems and smart- phones, amongst other things. Tourism, as one of the world’s transversal economic sectors, has been both witness to and protagonist of these changes. For both public and private tourism entities, ICT has offered indispensable and very pow- erful tools for management, logistics, distribu- tion and marketing. It has brought about a digital tourist that is more autonomous, hyper-connected and in- creasingly demanding, expecting personalised customer service. Shifts in customer expectations and glob- al trends are compelling the tourism sector to adapt business and operating models in search of enhanced customer satisfaction and operational performance. This is creating opportunities for new en- trants into the tourism value chain, especially digital ‘natives’ like online travel aggregators. At the same time, private platform tourism services (the so-called sharing economy) are on the rise. While the tourism sector has been at the forefront of digital disruption, exponential technological change means that the sector must innovate, and stakeholders must collabo- S2 NewsDay | Thursday September 27 2018 TOURISM DAY SUPPLEMENT Guests enjoying the Vulture Culture Experience at Victoria Falls Safari Lodge Charlene Hewat and the Victoria Falls Recycling team at work Victoria Falls anti-poaching unit scouts on patrol around Victoria Falls Park Sustainable tourism is the way to go INCE Africa Albida Tour- birds. ism (AAT)’s beginnings a It also enables their numbers to quarter of a century ago, be monitored and raise awareness the Zimbabwean hospital- of their plight. ity group has embraced Vulture populations are dwin- Ssustainable tourism, striving to en- dling due to a variety of human- sure that the impact of its opera- created issues, including electro- tions on the local environment, cul- cution by power lines. Visitors wit- ture and people is positive. ness the spectacular sight of hun- AAT this year stepped up its al- dreds of vultures swooping down ready extensive corporate so- to feed on leftover meat scraps cial responsibility programme by from the on-site restaurants. launching a major recycling pro- The daily Vulture Culture Expe- ject in Victoria Falls, which is be- rience is educational and appeals ing spearheaded by well-known to all age groups. AAT works in conservationist Charlene Hewat. collaboration with VulPro, a lead- AAT launched Victoria Falls Re- ing vulture conservation pro- cycling in March, an initiative to gramme based in South Africa and protect the environment around the Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust on one of the Seven Natural Won- this project. It also raises funds, ders of the World, winning the en- which go to vulture research and vironmental award at the Associ- awareness programmes. ation of Zimbabwe Travel Agents In 2016, Victoria Falls Safari (AZTA) Awards ceremony earlier Lodge received a silver award from this month in recognition of this Green Tourism, one of the world’s project. most credible and effective glob- Hotels, retail outlets and Victo- al sustainability programmes in ria Falls residents are participat- tourism. ing in the initiative, where plastics AAT is also involved in regular and paper are being recycled, and Victoria Falls clean-up campaigns in the coming months, glass and to ensure that visitors to this icon- beverage cans will also be includ- ic destination enjoy their stay in ed. clean surrounds, while National A key conservation project for Tree Planting Day is observed an- AAT has been the protection of nually by staff planting indige- wildlife through the establishment nous trees at the Victoria Falls Sa- of the Victoria Falls Anti-Poaching fari Lodge estate. Unit (VFAPU), which it co-found- The company supports local ed along with local safari opera- schools, clinics, the orphanage tor and conservationist Charles and old people’s home by donating Brightman in 1999. goods as expected of corporates. AAT has supported VFAPU, As part of the global initiative, largely through organising and pack for a purpose guests are en- hosting an annual fundraising golf couraged to become involved in the day since 2001, which has raised development of schools and clin- more than $100 000 for the unit in ics, with many bringing stationery, the past five years alone. The group sports equipment and clothing, or also pays the salaries of six scouts medical supplies. and contributes to supplies for the In addition to Victoria Falls Safa- unit. ri Lodge, AAT’s portfolio of hotels AAT also operates the Vulture and restaurants include Victoria Culture Experience at its flag- Falls Safari Club, Victoria Falls Sa- ship Victoria Falls Safari Lodge, fari Suites, Lokuthula Lodges and which is a supplementary feeding The Boma – Dinner & Drum Show programme to aid the survival of in Victoria Falls, as well as Ngoma these remarkable, but endangered Safari Lodge in Chobe, Botswana. NewsDay Thursday September 27 2018 S3 Harare sets eyes on growing traffic to its tourist attractions BY VANESSA GONYE HE City of Harare is focusing on increasing visits to its various attractions dotted around the city with the aim Tof increasing revenue so that they are able to offer 75% customer satisfaction in service delivery by 2020. Speaking to NewsDay, council spokesperson Michael Chideme said the city has a lot of attractions for tourism, which include parks, hotels, restaurants and vibrant night life, among others. “Harare city is tourism. In that we mean we have a lot of attractions for tourism which are very good for sight-seeing; we have hotels, restaurants, game parks, good music, vibrant night life among other things and we also have historic build- ings like Mai Musodzi Hall and Stodart Hall, both in Mbare,” he said. Mai Musodzi and Stodart halls are historical monuments and they both played a significant role in the country’s liber- ation struggle. Sunshine City Mai Musodzi Hall was named after Elizabeth Maria Musod- zi Ayema, who was Mbuya Nehanda’s niece. She was known as Amai in Mbare, due to her outstanding contribution in sup- porting the plight of women and nationalist politics in the World Tourism Day 2018 country after relocating to the populous suburb. Her role in charity and women’s emancipation made her contribution to the struggle and the city an unforgettable one, hence the importance placed on the hall which carries a lot of memories for the development of the city. Stodart Hall is where, on July 20 1960, youths bravely fought back a cordon of Rhodesian police officers,