HERITAGE SITES NOT FULLY TAPPED FOR TOURISM - STAKEHOLDERS

BY GRACE MACHA IN ARUSHA

Stakeholders have called for deliberate efforts to promote existing  heritage sites found in the country for tourism.

The move would lead to diversification of main tourist attractions in the country other than the wildlife splendour.

A leading tour operator Zara Ansell said in Arusha last week that the heritage sites need special promotion.

"There should be increased emphasis on them because they are equally attractive for tourists", she told journalists at the Karibu-Kilifair exhibition grounds in Arusha.

Ms Ansell,who is the managing director of Moshi-based Zara Tours, said heritage or cultural segments should be included in the package for visitors coming to Tanzania.

"Tanzania has countless tourism products other than wildlife. These also include mountain climbing", she added.

She cited Mt. Kilimanjaro, the world's tallest free standing mountain in the world and highest in Africa.

On average, the ice-capped 'Roof of Africa'  attracted about 50,000 foreign and local climbers every year.

But Ms Ansell, whose tour firm organizes the mountain climbs there,said work needs to be done to attract more mountain climbers and nature lovers to the area.

The 5,895 metre high mountain, which doubles as Kilimanjaro National Park (Kinapa), remains one of the leading tourist destinations in the country.

For many years, it trailed the equally world famous Serengeti National Park and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) in the number of visitors and revenues collected.

Her remarks complemented what the Zanzibar minister for Tourism and Antiquities Simai Mohamed Said said when he was opening the Expo.

The minister wondered as to why much emphasis was not given to 'utalii wa mambo ya kale' (cultural heritage tourism) as is done with wildlife or nature based sites.

He said the Isles was recently declared a number one tourist destination in Africa because of its rich cultural tourism relics.

 

The minister revealed that with an increased influx of tourists from the leading source markets, there will soon be a direct flight from France to Tanzania.

 

This will increase the number of direct scheduled flights to the country from Europe which remains the leading source of the visitors after North America.

Mr. Simai said although Tourism was not a Union matter,the two governments have been working together to jointly promote their tourist niches.

He said the Isles, like the Mainland, has lately seen an unprecedented influx of the  visitors from abroad; thanks to sustained promotion efforts.

When he tabled the estimates of his ministry in the National Assembly recently, the minister for Natural Resources and Tourism Mohamed Mchengerwa said tourism revival was indeed on gear.

There had been a 58 percent surge of the foreign visitors to the country between 2021 and 2022 from 922,692 to 1.4 million respectively.

According to the minister,the inflow of travel earnings reached $ 2.52 billion in 2022 up from $ 1.31 billion in 2021.

 

Richard Kayombo, the director of Taxpayers Services and Education with the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) said

they will continue to cooperate with tourism sector businesses in taxation matters.

This, according to him, will include seeking suggestions from the stakeholders on how the tourism services should be taxed without impacting the leading foreign exchange generating industry.

Mr. Kayombo insisted that TRA was aware of the role played by tourism in the country's economy and that it would cooperate to ensure that the key sector continued to generate the much needed revenues.