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TANZANIA:
"AUTHENTIC AFRICA" INCREASES ITS PROFILE IN THE
AMERICAN MARKET By Karen B.
Hoffman Two
major events take place back to back in Tanzania in
early December 2003, These are ATA's 7th Cultural
and Ecotourism Symposium in Zanziibar and the
Second African Peace Through Tourism Conference in
Dar es Salaam. Tanzania, the largest country in
East Africa - larger than Germany and France
combined, is often said to be "the land of the
ultimate safari," with more than 25% of the land
protected and home to an estimated 20% of Africa's
large mammals. Home of Mt. Kilimanjaro, highest
mountain on the Continent, six World Heritage Sites
(Kilimanjaro National Park; Serengeti National
Park, Ngorongoro Crater and Selous Game Preserve,
largest in the world), Olduvai Gorge ("Cradle of
Mankind"), the ruins of Kilwa Kisiwani and Songo
Mnara, Stone Town of Zanzibar and now Bagamoyo.
Already listed in the World Heritage Site's 2002
Watch List, Bagamoyo, if accepted, will be
Tanzania's Seventh World Heritage Site. Tanzania's
lakes are also famous, with Lake Victoria the
World's second largest fresh water body and Lake
Tanganyika the world's longest lake and second
deepest. Photos:
Top - Dar es Salaam harbor. Above - Tourism
Minister Zamia Hamdani Meghji escorting group of
ATA delegates and TTB team at IATOS Adventure
Travel Show in Chicago. Left - Tanzanite, the
famous gemstones of Tanzania. Below - scenes from
ATA International Congress in Arusha. Bottom - New
York University student volunteers ;led by ATA
member Eddies Bergman, working at Miracle Corners
of the World project in Tanzania. Targeting the American
Market According to Hon. Zakia
Hamdani Meghji, MP, Tanzania's Minister for Natural
Resources and Tourism, America, generating close to
50,000 tourists in 2000 (although in the post 9/11
period, it dropped to 30,806 in 2002) annually, is
the second largest market after Great Britain.
"Tanzania recognizes that Americans are seeking new
travel experiences, new places for adventure and
cultural interchanges, and that the African
Continent exudes a mystery and lure irresistible to
the traveler seeking something beyond a more
predictable, traditional sun, sea and sand
vacation. Although Tanzania has that in abundance
also, along 500 miles of Indian Ocean coastline,
offshore islands and the spice islands of Zanzibar.
But most important, Tanzania offers all this in a
safe, English speaking, stable
environment." The
growing increase in the Tanzania Tourist Board's
(TTB) activities in the US Market is indicative of
the strategic importance that this market plays in
the country's global marketing plan. Peter Mwenguo,
Managing Director, Tanzania Tourist Board noted
that "Tanzania's determination to make America our
number one tourist generating market is clearly
indicated by our spring campaign in the US: a
20-person delegation from the public and private
sectors participated for the first time ever in the
International Adventure and Outdoor Sports Show
(IATOS) in February at the Navy Pier in Chicago;
Tanzania had its own booth and sponsored a coffee
break at the Seatrade Convention in Miami in March;
and TTB participated in the Regional Tourism
Organization of Southern Africa's (RETOSA) recent
five market North American Tour." The United States
Ambassador to Tanzania, Robert V. Royall,
appreciates the important role tourism plays in
Tanzania. The American Embassy is assisting
Tanzania's tourism stakeholders by having a
dedicated staff member, Ms. Susan Campbell, focus
on tourism development. Ms. Campbell, who was part
of the Tanzania delegation to IATOS, emphasized
"Tanzania has tremendous potential to further
promote its 'cultural capital" and unrivaled
natural resources. The adventure traveler, in
particular, is resilient, sophisticated and
attracted to the types of opportunities that
Tanzania has to offer." More
US Gateways TTB Marketing Manager, Amant
Macha, pointed out that Tanzania's air access is
better than ever with major carriers providing more
frequent service from US gateways: This summer,
KLM/Northwest, will increase its flight schedule
from daily service into Dar es Salaam and
Kilimanjaro, to nine flights a week, with adding a
direct flight to Kilimanjaro Airport and an
additional one to Dar es Salaam, all with daily
service to Dar es Salaam and Arusha via Amsterdam;
British Airways flies three times a week into Dar
es Salaam via London;South African Airways flies
three times a week from Atlanta and New York City
via Johannesburg, into Dar es Salaam; and Ethiopian
Airlines flies from Dulles (Baltimore/Washington
DC) and Newark with twice weekly connections to Dar
es Salaam and Kilimanjaro Arusha via Addis
Ababa. Mt. Kilimanjaro: The
"Height of Adventure" Standing south of the
equator at 19,340 feet, crowned at the summit by
huge permanent glaciers, the iconic "Kili" is
Africa's highest mountain and highest freestanding
mountain in the world. An IMAX film, "To the Roof
of Africa" following the climb of six people up Mt.
Kilimanjaro, was launched in spring 2001 in museum
Imax theaters across the country. "This was an
enormous boost to Tanzania Tourism," said Mwenguo.
"In fact two tour operators in the markets where
the IMAX film was shown, Boston-based Thomson
Safaris and Houston-based Absolute Adventure
Travel, created promotions and itineraries "in the
footsteps" of the IMAX film climb. Kilimanjaro
Marathon: Intrepid
runners looking for a real challenge, from the
continent that exports the most famous marathon
runners, can participate in the Kilimanjaro
Marathon. The first one, was held this year on
March 2, drew participants from Australia, Sweden,
Denmark, Kenya, South Africa, as well as Tanzania.
Expected to become an annual event, the 2004
Kilimanjaro Marathon hopes to expand its
participation from North America. and will become
an annual event. Extreme Adventure
&endash; Climbing Active Volcanoes Water Sports and Big Game
Fishing National Parks: Authentic
Africa &endash; Protected Africa Foremost to Tanzania's
development and tourism policy is an uncompromising
approach to protecting the country's cherished
environment and natural beauties. "We have a
progressive environmental and conservation policy
that is not only embedded in our constitution,"
said Mr Saleh Pamba, Director of Tourism at the
Ministry for Natural Resources and Tourism, "but it
is also through the Hon. Meghji's leadership and
efforts toward this end, that the awareness - we
who live in Tanzania as well as all visitors
&endash; that we all have a responsibility to
protect tour tourist attractions and environment
for the next generations to come." Tanzania now has 13 National
Parks in its famous game viewing circuits. And
according to Mr. Gerald Bigurube, Acting Director
General of Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA),
"American tourists are already the largest group of
visitors in the parks." Saadani, the newest
national park, is East Africa's only coastal
wildlife sanctuary. Located on the Indian Ocean
Coast 130 k north of Dar es Salaam, Sadaani
provides the unique combination of big game viewing
with a marine park. The National Parks are
divided into safari circuits. The Northern, the
most famous, attracts 90% of Tanzania park
visitors. It is the home of the classic safari
experience. From the endless short-grass plains of
the Serengeti to the dense rive forests of Lake
Manyara, the classic African savanna of Tarangire
to the lushly blended ecosystems of Ngorongoro,
there runs a shifting migration of African wildlife
that perfectly captures the safari
experience. In the South, remote and
wild, the Selous Game Reserve is crossed by the
Rufiji River, and said to be the Continent's, and
reputedly the world's largest game reserve. It is
roughly the size of Ireland and four times the size
of the Serengeti! Selous contains an estimated
30,000 elephants (the largest concentration in all
of Africa), 160,000 buffalo and many more species,
including zebras, impalas, water bucks, giraffes,
lions and leopards. The Rufiji's tributaries form a
network of lakes ideal for boat safaris and
bird-watching, and home to prodigious numbers of
hippos and crocodiles. Although most visitors
arrive by small aircraft, they can also travel by
train to the northern edge of the
Selous. The Selous, and the other
two National Parks of the South, the Ruaha and
Mikumi, have gradually earned a reputation among
connoisseurs as the best-kept secret on the African
safari circuit, offering remote, untouched swathes
of game-filled wilderness with an exclusivity borne
of isolated access. The Western Highlands lace a
ridge of the Rift Valley escarpment, high above
Lake Tanganyika. Within the game-filled enclaves
that sit along its spine there exist two small
perfectly-formed worlds of natural splendor, and
one vast expanse of prime African bush. Three of
these National Parks&emdash; Gombe Stream, Mahale,
Rubondo Island contain large colonies of
chimpanzees, baboons and colobus monkeys. None of
these parks are accessible by car, only by boat or
aircraft. Now, with regional carriers
such as Coastal Aviation, expanding their route
system to connect all the national parks, visitors
can now enjoy a more diverse safari experience,
such as flying direct from the famed Serengeti to
Robondo Island and from Arusha to the
Selous. For more information on
Tanzania visit www.tanzania-web.com;
Zanzibar: www.zanzibartourism.net;
or in the US, contact the Bradford Group, Tel (212)
447-0027; email
tanzania@bradfordmarketing.org. |
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