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THE Colombian delegation celebrate after the country won the bid to host the 2015 21st UNWTO General Assembly after the voting in Zambia yesterday

Patrick Chitumba in Livingstone, Zambia
COLOMBIA yesterday won the bid to host the 21st session of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) General Assembly in 2015.
Outgoing Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Engineer Walter Mzembi, said Colombia beat Cambodia, with a wide margin when the delegates voted in Livingstone, Zambia during the 20th session of the tourism indaba.
Colombia garnered 60 votes against Cambodia’s 38 votes during the voting.

Colombia’s Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism Mr Tatyana Orozco said his country would do its best to make the next general assembly a memorable event.

“We have won the bid. Thanks to the confidence the world tourism family has in us because the win comes at a time when our tourism industry is growing by eight percent per annum. The 2015 general assembly will therefore further boost our growth,” he said.

Colombia and Cambodia have, since the opening of the general assembly in Victoria Falls, been lobbying to host the event after Zimbabwe and Zambia.

The Cambodian Minister of Tourism, Mr Thong Khon, accepted defeat.
“We have been defeated. We accept the result but we thank those member states that voted for us. We hope to win next time. I want to take this opportunity to thank Zimbabwe and Zambia for co-hosting the 20th session,’’ he said.

Colombia has been a member of the UNWTO since its inception in 1975.  It is one of the major tourist attractions in South America and last year, it received more than two million tourists, which translates to a 6,4 percent growth from 2011.

The UNWTO general assembly is a bi-annual event held on rotational basis between member states.
Sessions of the general assembly have been held in different parts of the world.