NGORONGORO TOURISM EARNINGS HIT A RECORD SH. 176bn

 BY GRACE MACHA IN ARUSHA

Annual tourism earnings for Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) have soared to a record Sh.176 billion.

The famous destination for tourists visiting Tanzania generated revenue during the year ending June 2023.

The earnings followed a record number of 752,215 visitors who thronged to the world acclaimed site during the period. 

"This is the highest number of visitors since NCA was established", said Dr. Freddy Manongi, the Conservation Commissioner of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA).

He told journalists in Arusha early this week that the number of foreign tourists visiting the site has lately been on a steep rise.

"During the 2022/23 financial year ending June 2023, we received 752,215 foreign tourists," he said.

The visitors earned the economy a hefty Sh.176,141,186 "because this was the highest number of tourists ever recorded."

Dr. Manongi hinted that the revenues for the 2023/24 fiscal year may surpass that of 2022/23 given the sharp increase of the visitors.

Between July 1st 2023 to the third week of September, a total of both foreign and local visitors recorded is 307,376.

The last group of visitors who were at the NCA to sample various tourism insights earned the conservation agency Sh.70.4 billion. 

The NCAA boss lauded the government for the support rendered, especially through aggressive marketing of the country's rich tourist insights.

The accolades went to President Samia Suluhu Hassan for deliberate measures taken to market the country through the Tanzania Royal Tour film, among others.

With its rich natural, cultural and geological attractions,NCA has been a gem among the foreign tourists coming to Tanzania. 

The 8,292 square km conservation area is in the league of the spectacular Serengeti National Park and Mt. Kilimanjaro as the country's  leading tourism hotspots.

The announcement of a record number of visitors has come shortly after the NCAA announced plans to open two more entry gates. 

New entry gates will be opened in  Engaruka on the northeastern corner of the Ngorongoro highlands and at Lake Eyasi entry to the southwest. 

Construction of the Eyasi gate site is almost complete while the one at Engaruka will be completed in the next financial year. 

"We have already installed electronic systems (at Eyasi) for collecting revenue", said Mr. Elibariki Bajuta,the deputy Conservation Commissioner.

NCA currently has one main entry gate on its boundary with Karatu district on the Arusha-Karatu-Ngorongoro highway.

The gate is often overwhelmed with the long lines of vehicles struggling to get into the conservation area, specifically its main attraction; the crater. 

Mr. Bajuta said the two entry gates will be opened in order to improve services for the surging number of the area. 

The planned gate at Engaruka will be located near the abandoned ruins bearing the same name which have baffled many for years.

Engaruka is considered one of the most important Iron Age archaeological sites in Tanzania, already registered as one of the national historical sites. 

Main attractions in the vicinity include the Empakaai and Olmoti craters and Lolmalasin, the third highest peak in Tanzania after Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Meru. 

On the other hand, the Eyasi gate has its niche. It will connect the NCA with the land of the Hadzabe, one of the last remaining stone age cultures in Africa.   

The gate is also close to the  Ndutu plains covering both the NCA and Serengeti NP. The site is famous as a  breeding area for the wildebeest.