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Domestic tourism needs fresh impetus
2005-04-27 20:49:13
By Editor
Tanzania is endowed with numerous tourist attractions, including the world-famous Serengeti, which is widely considered the world's greatest national park, and Africa’s highest mountain, the Kilimanjaro.
We have a wide variety of flora and fauna that are the envy of other nations and which attract hundreds of thousands of tourists who bring with them much-needed foreign exchange totalling tens of millions of dollars each year.
We commend efforts being made to attract more foreign tourists to the country since it is an undeniable fact that country’s tourism potential has yet to be fully exploited.
While the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, through the Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB), has in recent years been going out of its way to sell the country abroad, we are of the view that not enough is being done to promote internal tourism.
Setting low national park entrance fees for citizens alone is not enough and TTB must do more to make Tanzanians aware of and appreciate this country’s stunning natural beauty and tourist attractions which are hitherto considered to be there so that foreigners can come and marvel at them.
Tanzania is home to the 'Big Five' of the wildlife, namely the buffalo, elephant, leopard, lion and rhinoceros, and other animals such as the giraffe, which also happens to be our national symbol, cheetah, hippopotamus and wildebeest.
However, very few Tanzanians have seen these magnificent animals in real life, let alone view them in their natural habitat.
People familiar with the animals are either tourist guides or those living in areas bordering national parks and game reserves.
The mistaken notion that our national parks, game reserves and other tourist attractions are out of bounds to Tanzanian citizens is largely to blame for this state of affairs.
Tanzanians must be made to understand that the country’s natural resources belong to all of us and that they are not the preserve of foreign tourists.
This calls for TTB to embark on an aggressive campaign to promote internal tourism which will not only make Tanzanians realise what they have been missing, but also generate additional revenue for the government.
The government should also consider establishing zoos in the country’s cities and major towns.
It is astonishing that Dar es Salaam, the country's commercial capital, which is the first stop for most tourists visiting the country, does not have a zoo where the public and foreign tourists can view animals found in our national parks and game reserves and even exotic species that can be readily imported into the country.
We are sure such a facility can attract hundreds of visitors each day.
The public will have the opportunity to marvel at our wildlife without having to make time-consuming trips to national parks.
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