The country is endowed with many tourist attractions that include
wild animals which are not found in any part of the world. It also has
the tallest mountain in Africa, Mt Kilimanjaro which is 5,895 metres
high.
Thousands of tourists each year troop to Tanzania to scale the
mountain whose unique feature is that it is snow-capped although it is
situated in the Tropics where the weather is always hot.
In an effort to open international tourism markets, the Tanzania
Tourism Board (TTB) recently launched the first Swahili International
Tourism Expo (SITE). According to Devota Mdachi, Managing Director of
the TTB, the launch of SITE will facilitate continued efforts to promote
Tanzania as a preferred tourist destination and will connect Small and
Medium Tourism Enterprises (SMEs) with the international tourism market.
Many Tanzanian tourism agencies are small and have limited capital
as well as ability to access to international tourism markets. SITE
will, without doubt, help address this challenge.
Speaking recently at the International Tourism Fair, the Minister
for Natural Resources and Tourism, Lazaro Nyalandu, indicated that
between 2002 and 2013 Tanzania registered a 50 per cent growth in
international arrivals.
According to him, tourism is among few economic sectors in Tanzania growing strongly and driving its economic development.
It is therefore important that Tanzanians work very hard to
capitalise on the ‘top of mind’ awareness that previous efforts have
generated for the country. As a nation, we need to make concerted
efforts on strategies to promote our tourist attractions.
It is true that many Tanzanian tourism agencies are small-scale
enterprises which have limited capital and ability to access to
international tourism markets. It is therefore hoped that SITE will help
address this challenge.
Undoubtedly, tourism is one of the few economic sectors in Tanzania
growing rapidly, while driving our country’s economic progress. It is
therefore important that Tanzanians work harder than ever to capitalize
on the ‘top of mind’ awareness that previous efforts have generated for
the country. As a nation, we should make concerted efforts on strategies
to promote Tanzania’s attractions.
These should start right from the moment tourists enter into the
country at airports, sea ports and border entry points. The country has
many of these, considering that it has borders with landlocked countries
of East and Central Africa.
Our ambassadors are the officials who man these points. They should
treat well all people, especially tourists, coming to our country for
they will have the first impression from them.
If they do so no doubt tourists will be encouraged to come back
again, but if they do otherwise it will not be surprising if they call
it a day.
SOURCE:
THE GUARDIAN
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