United Nations World Tourism Organisation secretary-general Taleb Rifai has been reelected to the position for a further four years.

The decision was taken at the UNWTO annual general assembly, which is presently being held in Livingstone, Zambia.

The event is being co-chaired by Zimbabwe.

Addressing journalists after this reelection Rifai said he had “reservations about running again” but recognised it was his “destiny to do so”.

He added: “I want to thank delegates for re-electing me to be secretary-general for the next four years.

“We feel this general assembly has been a great event because it left an impact on the hosting communities.

Delegates attending the conference showered praises on Rifai following his re-election.

They said under his administration, the tourism industry was continuing to grow and the sector was starting to be a big revenue earner for many governments, especially developing countries.

Rifai added his job remains challenging, with the role of being both a reformer and consensus-builder often coming into conflict.

However, he added: “We cannot live in a world that is static; everything changes.

“Reform is not just a character or a passion.

“We have no option but to keep reforming and keep changing.”