Dar es Salaam is the 39th most attractive destination for tourists this year, well ahead of other exotic destinations such as Vienna, Belize and Niagara Falls in the US. Cape Town is the best must-go destination this year while Addis Abbaba is 13th.PHOTO|FILE
IN SUMMARY
Other destinations on the list include Christchurch, New Zealand (2nd), Downtown Los Angeles (5th), Namibia (6th), Rotterdam, The Netherlands (10th), Taiwan (11th), Laikipia Plateau, Kenya (19th), Yorkshire, England (22nd) and Dubai (23rd).
Dar es Salaam. Forget the Serengeti National Park, the Ngorongoro Crater, Mount Kilimanjaro and the pristine beaches of Zanzibar. Dar es Salaam city is one of only 50 “must go” destinations globally for tourists and adventurers this year, according to the New York Times.
The city and three other African capitals have been chosen as must-go destinations for tourists, the two others being Cape Town and Addis Abbaba.
“Tanzania may be best known for the snow-capped peaks of Mount Kilimanjaro and the game-packed plains of the Serengeti, but the real pulse of the country is found in its largest city, Dar es Salaam,” says the report published yesterday in the New York Times website’s Travel section.
The limelight in a prominent newspaper in the US, which is developing into a prime source of tourists heading to Tanzania is a boon to tourism, Director-General of the Tanzania Tourist Board Aloyce Nzuki said yesterday.
It boosts the variety in the country’s tourist destinations beyond national parks and the beaches of Zanzibar. But it adds pressure to city fathers to improve Dar’s transport and energy infrastructure and social services. The country will also have to tame the rising wave of crime and restore the cultural and old sections of the city that have been targeted for demolition in favour of skyscrapers, according to experts.
Dar es Salaam is the 39th most attractive destination for tourists this year, well ahead of other exotic destinations such as Vienna, Belize and Niagara Falls in the US. Cape Town is the best must-go destination this year while Addis Abbaba is 13th.
Other destinations on the list include Christchurch, New Zealand (2nd), Downtown Los Angeles (5th), Namibia (6th), Rotterdam, The Netherlands (10th), Taiwan (11th), Laikipia Plateau, Kenya (19th), Yorkshire, England (22nd) and Dubai (23rd).
Yet others are The Vatican (24th), Seychelles (27th), Athens (36th), Arctic Circle (38th) and Downtown Atlanta (40th).
The destinations were selected on the basis of benchmarks that include a city in transformation, exotic animals and a rich history.
Dar es Salaam got on the list for its rich live music culture, the beaches and general vibrancy. “An eclectic mix of music echoes through the beach clubs, open-air bars and nightclubs of this Indian Ocean coastal city,” said the New York Times. “Old-school dance music competes with Swahili hip-hop and traditional drumming, all drawing from the city’s African, Indian and Arab influences. Add the street food, the beaches and the fact that the year-old African low-cost carrier Fastjet uses Dar as its hub and it’s easy to see that this commercial capital is more than a stopover on the way to Tanzania’s natural splendour. It is an African metropolis coming into its own.”
According to Dr Nzuki, the choice of Dar es Salaam does not surprise TTB as it complements a strategy to make the city and the whole Swahili coast (Indian Ocean coast) a prime destination. “Dar es Salaam is a very prime tourist destination owing to its vibrancy, rich cultural heritage, architecture and a thriving music culture, as well as good beaches,” he told The Citizen.
In its efforts to promote the city, TTB is organising an annual tourism promotion campaign known as Swahili International Tourism Expo (SITE) aimed at promoting Swahili culture and other attractions along the Tanzanian coast. “We are encouraged and motivated by the New York Times’ listing of Dar es Salaam as a must go destination this year,” he said.
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