Having dedicated and qualified staff offering
hospitality and tour guide services is paramount for the development of tourism
sector in western Serengeti and elsewhere in Tanzania.
The tourism sector in western Serengeti has of
late registered significant progress that needs competent workers, according to
serious investors operating in the area. It's the only place with the highest
number of classic tourist and tented camps in Mara Region.
The facilities belong to serious investors
targeting thousands of tourists flocking into the Serengeti ecosystem to view
wildlife.
Singita Grumeti Reserves (SGR), an exclusive
tourism company, has already started supporting young men and women pursue
tourism courses in a bid to enhance hospitality services in western Serengeti.
SGR operates several luxurious lodges and tented
camps that have been set up by US billionaire Paul Tudor Jones in Western
Serengeti. The American has invested heavily in tourism and conservation
sectors in Tanzania after falling in love with the Serengeti ecosystem.
Mr Jason Trollip, the Tourism Executive at SGR,
says training of local youths in hospitality is one of the company's top
priorities in its operations. "We have seven lodges and tented camps and
my role is to keep the high standard of SGR lodges but there is no way I can do
without trained and dedicated staff," Mr Trollip says.
SGR lodges have won global awards after the
Travel and the Leisure Magazine of the United States of America named them the
best from a list of 100 top hotels in the world in 2011 and 2012. The lodges
are flagship Singita Sasakwa Lodge, Singita Sabora Tented Camp, Singita
Farufaru Lodge, Singita Serengeti House, Singita Mara River Tented camp and
Singita Explore, Simba and Maji.
The awards scooped by SGR lodges helped to make
Tanzanian hospitality services shine globally as the local lodges were widely
featured by the international media like CNN. SGR says it has in the recent
years been offering scholarships to students interested with the hospitality
industry.
"Since 2010 SGR has spent 47m/- to sponsor
28 students, according to a recent report. Sixteen of the beneficiary students
are from various villages located near the company's area of operation in
Serengeti and 12 from neighbouring Bunda District.
SOURCE;
By Mugini Jacob, 15 November 2013 Tanzania Daily News (Dar es Salaam)
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