Game drives are popular activities in Serengeti National Park. PHOTO |FILE
Arusha. Tanzania has been named by the US digital TV channel as being among the five top tourist destinations in Africa.
The spectacular Serengeti National Park, beaches in Zanzibar and cultural tourism are cited as the main attractions.
“Tanzania boasts the most beautiful, world-class beaches you may ever see,” said TheGrio, the digital channel.
It added that Tanzania was safe for international tourists despite the oft-published negative travel advisories in the West.
“The country is safe. So it’s a top destination, indeed,” the digital TV said in its recent upload on its website.
The message was especially addressed to Americans intending to travel abroad this season to avoid the chilly winter at home.
Other countries named are Morocco, specifically its Marrakech city in the Atlas mountains, Nigeria, South Africa (Cape Town) and Egypt.
Tanzania was also picked for its wildlife splendor, notably the expansive and award-winning Serengeti National Park.
“At Serengeti, you can witness all the Big Five - the black rhino, buffalo, lion, leopard and elephant - within the park,” TheGrio dispatch says.
The 14,763 square kilometre protected area has one of the largest concentrations of wild animals in the world.
These include the 1.5 million wildebeests, 250,000 zebras and the largest lion population in Africa.
The park has won many world awards over the years, the latest being the World Travel Award (WTA) it won in October last year.
The global initiative named the famous protected area as Africa’s leading national park for a third year in a row.
The TV channel also cited cultural tourism as among the factors which make Tanzania to excel in travel and tourism.
“You can visit the Maasai villages and get a chance to learn some skills from the locals - and also give back to the communities,” the dispatch says.
Prior to the outbreak of Covid-19 and detection of the first case in the country in early 2020, the US was the leading source of tourists to Tanzania.
Tourist arrivals hit a record high of 1.5 million in 2019, generating about $2.6 billion in revenues. However, the figures fell to 620,867 visitors in 2020 generating $1.7 billion.
The TV channel also spoke on the rich historical and archeological insights which have placed Tanzania top as the Cradle of Mankind.
“Tanzania is the soul of Africa, where many anthropologists relocate,” it said. The leading human origin sites in Tanzania include the Olduvai Gorge and Laetoli.
GrioTV - which was launched in June 2009 as a division of NBC News - says Africa’s cultural attractions have equally played a part in keeping the continent’s tourism on the radar.
“From the land of lush resources to the actual birthplace of humanity, Africa is the heralded queen of continents,” it pointed out.
TheGrio is an American TV channel and website with news, opinion, entertainment and video content geared toward African-Americans.
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