Strategies to enhance Amani tourist sites set in swift gear

CHEJI BAKARI in Muheza

TANZANIA Forest Services (TFS) is upbeat on maintaining and improving its tourist attractions, including Amani Forest Nature Reserve in Tanga Region, with a view to boosting the tourism sector.

TFS Acting Director General, Professor Donsantos Silayo, revealed the initiative during a one-day

working tour of the Amani Forest Nature Reserve whereby among other things he cited some challenges facing the biodiversity reserve, including a rough road.

He said Amani Forest Nature Reserve was the only forest hosting a nursery of different species of plants in Africa which for a number of decades had been used as a training and research centre and that it had opened tourism opportunities.

“Due to the fact that Amani Forest Nature Reserve has biodiversity tourist attractions, we have charted strategies for improving and maintaining the forest as a tourist destination centre, including repairing the main road from Muheza to the forest.

He further explained that TFS also opened doors to private investors who intend to invest in the hospitality industry and shuttle services into tourism areas, as well as employing tour guides with forest biodiversity experience.

“We want to make sure that all forest reserves under TFS employ tour guides with knowledge and experience of biodiversity ecology who can enlighten tourists on different insect, animal and plant species within the forests,” he elaborated.

Earlier, a senior official, Mwanaidi Kijazi explained that during the 2017/2018 Financial Year, 59.2m/- was collected from 782 tourists who visited the Forest Nature Reserve.