Tanzania focuses on cultural heritages, history and scenic natural attractions

By Apolinari Tairo
DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania (eTN) - In its efforts to attract more tourists from Europe and other leading travel trade market sources, Tanzania has directed its marketing campaigns and tourism publicity focusing more on the country's cultural heritages, history and scenic natural attractions.
Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB) marketing director Amant Macha said Tanzania will competitively market its tourism, branding its resources on people, rich cultural heritage and history.

He said shortly after the closing of International Tourism Fair (ITB) in Berlin that the new branding of Tanzania's tourism in source markets will focus more on less developed tourist attractions including southern and western Tanzania wildlife parks, scenic mountains in southern highlands, cultural tourism in villages, sports, arts, shopping and special interest tours in the country.
Speaking to eTN, Mr. Macha said Tanzania is currently branding and publicizing its diversified tourist attractions other than wildlife, which TTB and other stakeholders have been marketing in source markets of Europe and other western nations.

He said more familiar images such as the southern Tanzania mountains and lakes, lush forests and history are to be featured prominently parallel to meet tourists inspirations so as to keep their spirit of exploring Tanzania's rich tourist attractions.
Tanzania is currently campaigning to attract foreign investors to help develop its tourist industry to attract one million visitors by the year 2010 and who are expected to earn this sub-Saharan nation over US$1 billion.
Currently, tourism annual earnings are US$732 million from 612,000 tourists. There has been a sharp gradient on tourist increase each year, prompting the government to beef up tourism marketing campaigns abroad.

"Tourism publicity and infrastructure development are now a priority to the Tanzanian government which wants to see more press coverage in the traditional tourist markets of North America, Europe and emerging markets in South East Asia," Mr. Macha said.  
Upgrading of roads, air transport and accommodation within Tanzania are needed to attracting more tourists, he told eTN.
"It's important for Tanzania tourist stakeholders to participate the Berlin exhibition every year so as to build strong links with the German tourist market that includes Austria, Switzerland and Germany itself. We need to be here to promote and publicize Tanzania's tourist attractions and all we have to offer," Mr. Macha added.

"We have had many proposals from Germany and the rest of Europe to bring many tourists to both the mainland and Zanzibar over the next two years", he pointed out.
Tanzania maintained its strong presence at the ITB show with the increase of its exhibition space from last year's 207 to 228 square meters.
Among the 42 Tanzanian companies that exhibited their tourist services, were Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) and Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA) in Dar es Salaam and Kilimanjaro respectively.
During the fair, Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA), Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA) and TTB signed a marketing contract Austrian based Taruk International GmbH for the latter to organize on behalf of Tanzania, six tourism road shows in German speaking countries in September this year.
The road shows to involve 7000 tour operators, travel agents and key business media will take place in the cities of Berlin, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Vienna, Munich and Zurich.
A total of 10,856 tourist institutions and companies from 183 countries exhibited at this world's biggest international tourism fair and which had attracted 160,000 visitors. 
Qatar Airways in conjunction with TTB organized a raffle at the Tanzania pavilion where the winner clinched an air ticket to visit Tanzania on board Qatar Airways flight Berlin to Dar es Salaam via Doha (Qatar).

March 15, 2007   Posted in: Africa