The tourist potentials in Tanzania are said to be the most unexploited in East Africa. What is your response to this and what are your plans to develop the tourist potentials more in the future?
The potential of tourism in this country is indeed very high and I would a agree to a certain extend that certain aspects have not been realised. There has been a lot of emphasis on wildlife and to a certain extend on beaches. When it comes to wildlife, there has been more emphasis on the Northern part of the country. The region of the Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, Serengeti, Manyara, Tarangire, etc. I think that the Northern part is oversatturated and there is a need to look into otherareas of Tanzania which have a great potential, and that is what we are doing now. For example in the Southern part of Tanzania, in terms of wildlife there is Selous, which is the biggest game reserve in the world. We also have Mikumi, Ruaha and Katavi. These are areas that have not been publicised and marketed and as a result, notmany tourists know about the Southern part. The other aspect is the beach. Our neighbouring countries have more emphasised on the beach tourism. We haven't much in Tanzania. In Zanzibar, which is part of Tanzania, there are a number of hotels around the island, but in Tanzania we don't have many hotels. A few hotels are now being built, for example the Beach Comber Hotel has just opened 3 weeks ago. There is also the Kunduchi Beach Hotel which has been sold through the new privatisation policy. So there are few hotels. In the Southern part of the country like Mtwara and Lindi we have a big potential for beach tourism. Therefore we invite investors to come in and establish their business there. The problem is that we haven't been marketing these areas in the past.
Another aspect we want to put more emphasis on is historical tourism. Tanzania like other East African countries is a country with a very long history with the Chinese, the Arabs, the Germans and the British which have been here. There are a lot of old buildings that show the culture and history of the area. For example Bagamoyo, which is about 45 minutes drive from Dar es Salaam, is an area where we can develop historical tourism. Bagamoyo is where the slaves were brought to from the inland and where they were shipped to Zanzibar to a big slave market. These are some of the things that have potential in this country including the cultural aspect. A lot of tourists are interested in the culture of our people and we have started a few programs in the Tanga area with the support of the Dutch government. We have centers were tourists can learn how Tanzanian people live, what kind of food they cook, how they do ceremonies and funerals, etc.
So there is indeed a huge potential for tourism in Tanzania but all these potentials have to be developed. There are a lot of things that have to be taken into account. Tourism is intersectoral. You can not develop tourism without taking other sectors into account.The infrastructure; the roads and railways, have to be repaired, the aeroplanes that bring down the tourists as well as the hotels. That is why the TIC (Tanzanian Investment Centre) is approaching foreign investors in order to bring them into the country and help us developing all these things.
To what extend are you developing the infrastructure to make Tanzania ready for big tourism?
The ministry of works takes care of that. With the policy changes and privatisation, we talk of BOT (Built Operated Transfer). This is an area whereinvestors could come to Tanzania and invest in the infrastructure. The concept is thatones a road is built, the user of this road will have to pay a toll fee to use it. We also have 12 national Parks. The national Parks are under the Tanzanian National Parks Authority (TANAPA). They take care of all the national parks and they are in charge of all the roads inside the parks. Part of the money that is earned by the national parks through tourists coming in is used to rehabilitate these roads. The ministry of works is in charge of all the roads outside the parks. We, the ministry of Tourism are a concerning party and with the ministry of works, we sit down and set the priorities in terms of road rehabilitation. We have been able to repair some of the roads in really bad condition, for example the Morogoro road. We raised some funds through the TANAPA and we rehabilitated this road. The government realized that this is an important project for tourism and with the help of the Japanese government we are now termacing this road. The question of priorities by developing the infrastructure is very important and now the government is very clear that the roads to our tourist destinations have to come first in order to develop the sector. The Bagamoyo road is another example of a road that had priority because it was in a very bad estate and the EU is supporting this project. So the priority aspect is very important. | What are your methods in attracting tourists into your country?
Our Ministry is the sole Ministry that is in charge of tourism, and we have a Board which is called TTB (Tanzania Tourist Board). This Board does promotion work in collaboration with the private sector. The emphasis here is on private sector participation. We do promotion tours in different parts of the world. What we are trying to do sometimes, is that when the President goes for a State visit, we also plan to go there with the President to promote tourism in Tanzania. We have done this twice. For example when the President visited Japan, we went along with him for promotion and selling ourselves to those potential investors. When he went to the United States of America last year, we also went there with the private companies and held an exhibition there. We participate in various exhibitions that are held abroad, for example in London, Germany, South Africa, Dubai, US. Last month we participated in one which was held in France. We also produce brochures to market the country. We try to take advantage of the opportunities whenever they come. This month, for example, a cruise ship is coming to Dar es Salaam with tourists. We never had any cruise ships coming to Dar es Salaam. They usually stop in Mombasa and Zanzibar. They rang me from New York three days ago confirming that the ship is on schedule and ready to come. The ship is coming with 250 people on board, they will stay one day here and we will take them around. We are also going to have a cocktail at the Karimjee grounds the former Parliament, where we used to house before we moved here. We are trying to take advantage whenever there is a chance to promote the country. We try not to be bureaucratic so as to avoid loosing chances. I am happy because this event will be an added advantage to the promotion of tourism in Tanzania.
What are your future outlooks for tourism in Tanzania and what would be your final message to our readers ?
I think Tanzania has a huge potential for tourism because, it has a magnitude of things. If you are interested in wildlife or beach tourism, come to Tanzania. History, culture, and much more, can be found here too. With our paradise-islands Zanzibar, Pemba and Mafia Island, and all the Safaris you can make in our Natural Parks, I would say that Tanzania will be the tourist destination number one in East Africa.
But I would also want to say to potential investors that we have changed and we keepon changing our policies for the private investors, and now the government is not running the business. The role of the government is to make sure that the environment is conducive enough, the different laws are presently very conducive. For example if you are dealing with the ITC, there was a lot of bureaucracy before, but now, we have a one stop shop centre where you can go and arrange all necessary paperwork within a day or two. There is a new land act, which makes it easier for investors to come and settle down here in Tanzania. As a message, I would also like to add, that although Tanzania is part of East Africa and we are part of the East Africa Co-operation and should work together and be honest about our own tourist attractions, we have had problems as far as the promotion of Mount Kilimanjaro is concerned. We know that Mount Kilimanjaro is seen from the other side, but I think it is not correct to say that Kilimanjaro is in another country. It might be seen from other countries, but it is our mountain and if you want to climb it, you have to come to Tanzania and do it from here. |
