Published: 19 August 2013

Zimbabwe and Zambia have announced that everything is in place to co-host the 20th United Nations World Tourism Organisation General Assembly from August 24-29 this year.

With a week to go before the world descends on the two Southern African countries, officials told journalists over the weekend that they were putting in place final touches in preparation for the event.

Officials from over 140 countries are expected to attend the conference, which will be held in the resort towns of Victoria Falls and Livingstone.

A media tour of the resort town revealed that the major conferencing facilities for the general assembly were in the final stages of being completed with infrastructure such as roads and telecommunications already in place.

The host towns were a hive of activity with officials running around to ensure the two countries deliver.

Zimbabwe's outgoing Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Walter Mzembi said the two countries were 99.5 percent ready for the tourism showcase.

"On a scale of one to 10 we are on 9.5. We are very ready," he said.

Zambian Tourism Minister Sylvia Masebo said her country was also prepared to co-host the UNWTO assembly.

"We are ready to co-host this event, the people of Livingstone are ready and the people of Zambia are ready," she said.

- New Ziana

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