2015 Travvy Awards: Tanzania named finalist in Best Tourist Board Africa category

NEW YORK, NY - Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB) was named one of three finalist in the Best Tourist Board Africa category for the 2015 Travvy Awards, that recognizes the highest standards of excellence in the Industry today and honors travel companies, travel products, travel agencies, travel executives, travel agents and travel destinations.

The Annual Travvy Awards that will be presented by TravAlliancemedia at a Gala Awards night, New York City, January 6, 2016.

Selection of the finalists is based on votes by travel agents. The final two winners in the respective categories are determined by the award-winning Travel Alliance editorial team.

Dr. Adelhelm Meru, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Natural Resources&Tourism, The United Republic of Tanzania, stated ‘Tanzania is honored to be among the finalists for Africa. This is the result of the dedicated and pro-active work in the US market by TTB acting CEO, Devota Mdachi, together with The Bradford Group, TTB’s USA representative, and the strong support of Tanzania National Parks and Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority as well as the Tanzania Embassy in Washington and the Tanzania Mission to the UN in New York.“

In the US market, The Bradford Group, on behalf of TTB, has developed strong partnerships with the private sector including the United States Tour Operators Association (USTOA), the Africa Travel Association (ATA), airlines serving Tanzania, tour operators and travel agents through various promotional initiatives. Destination Tanzania has also received continuous positive coverage in the major travel publications and broadcast media. In fact, in this month alone, Tanzania and Zanzibar, each made Travel + Leisure’s annual Best Places to Travel 2016 list; and Tanzania was featured on the cover of Conde Nast Traveler. The Editors in Chief of both high end travel publications personally made visits to Tanzania this year visiting the National Parks of Serengeti, Rubondo Island and Ruaha. On the broadcast media side, the Emmy Award winning TV show, Born to Explore with Richard Weise, shown across the US on ABC TV networks, recently aired its fifth episode on Tanzania in November, It Takes a Tribe, where he visits the Ngorongoro Crater and a Maasai village. Past episodes focused on Climbing Kilimanjaro and the people and cultures of Tanzania.

These promotional efforts have resulted in an 8.6% growth in tourism arrivals from the US Market in 2014 over the previous year, totaling 80,489 American visitors.

Dr. Meru further stated, “In addition to the fact that Tanzania has some of the world’s most renown tourism icons, the Serengeti and the Great Animal Migration, Mt. Kilimanjaro, the Ngorongoro Crater as well as the hidden gems of the South, the Selous Game Reserve and Ruaha National Park, Americans are also attracted to Tanzania because it is a peaceful, stable and democratic country with close ties to the US.”