John Key cops a lot of flack for his role as Minister of tourism, but no one can argue that he doesn’t work hard at promoting New Zealand.
Even though the more extreme of the left wing woul like to charge John Key with ethnic cleansing and bankrupting the country he certainly is no Robert Mugabe.
I’m not sure exactly what sort of global holiday-making Robert Mugabe will be able to endorse. Perhaps he is going ti encourage tours of the world’s despotic nations and tours of sites of ethnic cleansing?
The Zimbabwe president, accused of ethnic cleansing and bankrupting his country, asked to champion tourism.
With a line-up that includes Drew Barrymore, David Beckham, Orlando Bloom, and Ricky Martin, the UN’s choice of ambassadors has been known to cause raised eyebrows or the odd smirk.
Seldom, however, has there been such anger, or questioning of the organisation’s credibility, as that greeting the appointment of a new international envoy for tourism: Robert Mugabe.
Improbable as it seems, the Zimbabwean president, who is widely accused of ethnic cleansing, rigging elections, terrorising opposition, controlling media and presiding over a collapsed economy, has been endorsed as a champion of efforts to boost global holidaymaking.
Despite that fact Mugabe, 88, is under a travel ban, he has been honoured as a “leader for tourism” by the UN’s World Tourism Organisation, along with his political ally, Zambian president Michael Sata, 75. The pair signed an agreement with UNWTO secretary general Taleb Rifai at their shared border at Victoria Falls on Tuesday.
Zimbabwe’s state-owned Herald newspaper quoted Rifai urging tourists from around the world to visit : “I was told about the wonderful experience and the warm hospitality of this country … By coming here, it is recognition, an endorsement on the country that it is a safe destination.”
