Tanzania: 'Tanzania Earns Over 5tri/ - From Tourism Last Year'

By Nashon Kennedy in Mwanza

TANZANIA emerged the fourth country on the African continent to benefit from tourism as last year alone it earned $2.44bn (5.6tri/-).

Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Dr Hamis Kigwangalla, said this when opening a

meeting to discuss preparations for the launch of the Lake Zone International Tourism Exhibition and Investment Forum expected to take place in the Lake Zone.

The minister noted that based on official data this year the number of tourists to visit the country will be over a million tourists.

"Last year alone there were over 100,000 more tourists who made the total number of tourists who arrived in the country to reach 1.5 million," he said, adding that: "More than 20 per cent of foreigners board our planes."

For his part, Deputy Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism Constantine Kanyasu said tourism was the biggest opportunity to improve the country's economy, but Lake Zone, which has Lake Victoria as one of the tourist attractions, had not been doing well.

"Our plan through Lake Victoria International Exhibition is to improve the sector of tourism," he said, adding that the government would continue raising public awareness on domestic tourism.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, Prof Adolf Mkenda, said the meeting among other things would propose the name of the International Tourism Exhibition, the host region and the branding of the event itself, all aiming at improving the tourism sector in the Lake Zone.

The PS said in previous years tourism activities mainly occurred in Arusha Region due to both historic and geographical locations, but this time the government was exploring more tourist attractions, including the Lake Zone.

"We have decided to have the International Tourism Exhibition so that we may advertise ourselves more," he said.