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Click
above for Pemba Island
and Zanzibar Archipelago
from the
Eastern
Africa World
Edition.
 TOURISM
TANZANIA'S LEADING
ECONOMIC
SECTOR
Earning
$1 billion (USD),
Tourism Overtakes
Agriculture
Growing at a steady rate
for the past seven
years, Tanzania's
tourism is booming.
According to the
Governor of the Bank of
Tanzania, Prof. Benno
Ndulu, Tourism, earning
$1 billion USD, now
contributes nearly
triple the GDP of
Agriculture, which has
been the leading
contributor to the East
African country's
coffers for most of its
history. According to
the Honorable Mme.
Shamsa S. Mwangunga,
Tanzania's Minister of
Natural Resources &
Tourism, "Estimates are
that more than 750,000
tourists are expected to
arrive in the country
this year, bringing in
about $950 million
dollars. We
attribute this growth to
several factors, not the
least of which is that
Tanzania has a stable
and peaceful environment
with a democratically
elected government.
Photo: President Kikwete
at Leon H. Sullivan
Summit, Arusha
 Facts
About
Tanzania
Tanzania
Travel can be an
incredibly interesting
and rewarding
experience. Some more
interesting facts about
the country
include:
• At
over four times the size
of Great Britain,
Tanzania is the largest
country in Eastern
Africa.
• The
word Tanzania is derived
from the two nations of
Tanganyika and Zanzibar
which before 1964 were
seperate. Tanganyika in
Kiswahili, the local
dialect (Swahili) is
translated to mean "sail
in the wilderness" and
Zanzibar is derived from
the Arabic words "Zayn
Z'al Barr" which mean
"fair is this
land".
• The
remains of the earliest
humans, including the
legendary 2 million year
old Homo habilis were
found in the Olduvai
Gorge in
Tanzania.
• At
264 square kilometres,
the extinct Ngogongoro
Crater is the largest
complete crater in the
world.
• It
was in the town of Ujiji
near Lake Tanganyika
that Stanley first spoke
the words 'Dr.
Livingstone I presume?'
A plaque in the town
indicates the exact
place where Stanley
first caught up with
Livingstone all those
many years
ago.
• Tanzania
is home to over 100
different tribal
groups
• Lake
Manyara National Park is
home to the unique tree-
climbing lions. These
lions climb to the
uppermost portions of
the enormous Acacia
trees in the area, and
spend their days
languishing on the
branches which are some
seven or eight meters
above the
ground.
• Serengeti
translates from Masai as
'endless plains' or 'an
extended area', quite an
apt description when one
considers the size of
the world famous
Serengeti National
Park.
• Lake
Tanganyika in western
Tanzania is the world's
second deepest
lake.
• Kilimanjaro's
last eruption was over
200 years
ago.
• Tanzania
is famous for its
African blackwood or
mbingo carvings which
are sold at a number of
craft and street
stalls.
• The
Amani Nature Reserve in
eastern Tanzania is said
to be the only location
on earth where African
Violets in fact grow
wild.
• The
Coconut Crab which
inhabits the waters off
Zanzibar's Chumbe Island
is the largest crab in
the world.
• The
short Rainy Season in
Tanzania is called Vuli,
while the long rainy
season is called Masika
by the local
population.
• Tanzania
is approximately 3 hours
ahead of GMT which means
that the time in Dar es
Salem is 7 hours ahead
of New York and 2 hours
ahead of London..
Source: Tanzania Tourist
Board
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