Zimbabwe tourism minister Walter Mzembi has blasted the UK government after it stopped half of his World Travel Market entourage from entering the country.
Eleven of the 21-strong delegation planning to attend the tourism show were denied visas by immigration officials, a move he claimed was ‘blatantly political’ and designed to hurt Zimbabwe’s economic recovery.
In a break with protocol, furious Mzembi raised the issue at a WTM session where UK tourism minister Hugh Robertson was in attendance. He also criticised the way the Foreign and Commonwealth Office compiles its travel advisories to Zimbabwe, saying the current advice warning of political violence and typhoid outbreaks was ‘ludicrously inaccurate’.
“The UNWTO has a clear process for travel advisories; countries should speak to one another to get a full picture,” he said. “The rules say advice should not be politically speculative yet the FCO advice is very misleading. They never make any effort to contact us.”