Tourism sector players seek market in Russia

Wildlife tourism in Tanzania is bound to grow at a greater pace as local tour operators begin to market the tourist attractions beyond Europe and US.

 Some tour companies have now shifted their market target to the former Soviet Union member countries as they continue to show interest in the country’s major tourist sites. 

 

The remarks were made by Nasarog Safaris Ltd Managing Director Gabriel Mwenguo, who was recently in Chita Oblast-in Southeast Siberia, Russia on a business trip to market Tanzania as a tourist destination.

 

 According to him, tour operators are now seeking to widen their customer base in Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Latvia, and Russia.

He said the tourist market in those countries is very high but the only thing holding them back is language barrier.

While in Chita Oblast, the tour manager met with various tour stakeholders whereby they discussed various issues relating to the tourism sector in Tanzania and the possibility of a collaborating to bring tourists from those countries to Tanzania.

 

“After having a face to face discussion with the tour operators in Siberia, I established that the citizens do not have a command of English therefore they wanted assurance on convenience if they were to travel to Tanzania,” he said.

Mwenguo said his agency has professional translators and encouraged the potential tourists to visit the country. 

 

“The Russian people just like other foreigners are much welcome to our country’s to experience the exceptional blend of wildlife scenery and human culture. Language won’t be a problem since we have certified interpreters to make them feel at home,” he said.

 

He said this is a new market strategy designed to cater for people from those countries using Russian language to visit Tanzania.

 

Currently, English is the only medium of communication between tourists and the citizens, which according to Mwenguo is not enough. 

 

He urged for tour companies to look into the possibility of hiring interpreters of other languages besides English so as to cater for the  

Tanzania is the largest country in East Africa, focusing on wildlife conservation and sustainable tourism, with approximately 28 percent of the land protected by the government, the largest percentage of any country in the world.

 

It boasts of 16 National Parks and 32 Game Reserves, 50 Game Controlled Areas, one special Conservation Area (the Ngorongoro) and three Marine Parks.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN