Tourism talks on Tanzania's potential set for Arusha

CAPACITY: Tour operators believe rejuvenating the national carrier can boost tourist numbers

ARUSHA, Tanzania – People involved in the tourism industry will meet in Arusha soon to discuss ways of unlocking more of Tanzania’s potential.

The Mpingo Tourism Summit 2014 will take place between September 22nd and 23rd.

Participants will talk about  key issues in tourism development bringing on-board specialists and local tourism experts.

Globaskill Consulting and the Tanzania’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism are the co-organizers of the event in which tourism experts will moderate the discussions on key tourism issues.

The key speakers are drawn from the renowned individuals that have gained worldwide recognition for their expertise and accomplishment in the tourism industry. 

Dirk Elzinga, the Managing Director of Convention Industry Consultants (Pty) Limited in Cape Town, will speak about conference tourism.

New direction for tourism products, development, local government and sustainable tourism development, poaching, tourism policy modelling and destination reputation are among the topics that will feature in the summit.

Bakiri Angalia, the summit chair, said Tanzania has an enormous potential of tourist attractions to be one of the leading travel destinations, but apparently there is a few challenges and gaps between policy makers and private players. “So this is a free forum which will bring them on the table as well as international players to interact and share the best practices required to take the tourism industry to the next level.”

Tour operators have been complaining over lack of national carriers that could bring home tourists from international markets, among other challenges. As a result, nearly 40% of nearly one million tourists who visit Tanzania annually, land at Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and cross the border via Namanga to the northern tourist circuit.

Angalia said, “This is one of the issues that will be deliberated and possibly hear some new developments in a short and the long term span. The air ticket component constitutes about 60% of the tourists’ budget.”