Tanzania is rehabilitating nearly ten airstrips located in the country’s National Parks and Game Reserves, in preparation for anticipated surge of foreign tourists this season.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, Dr Francis Michael explains here that tourism is now picking up after the two-year long hiatus.
The 24 months pause resulted from the global pandemic which froze the travel industry worldwide.
PS Michael reveals that his ministry received 90.2 billion/- from the central government to upgrade important service points and infrastructure in tourism sites ready for business.
The 2022 tourism season in Tanzania normally kicks off in June, going all the way to November.
The country receives an average of 1.5 million tourists per annum.
Nearly 90 percent of this figure prefer to visit the Northern Circuit featuring Serengeti, Tarangire and Lake Manyara National in addition to Ngorongoro Crater and Mount Kilimanjaro.
The spillover sample the beaches in Zanzibar Isles and the Southern Tourism Circuit.
The preparatory project to that effect entails the rehabilitation of eight airstrips in National Parks and Game Reserves across the country and the upgrading nearly 2400 kilometers of roads.
It also involves the construction of 14 new and active gates and information centers at the parks’ entrances.
Part of the funds is also being invested to reinforce security around such destinations and strengthen digital communication facilities in the parks.
Tanzania, on the other hand, is still taking preventive measures against Covid-19. The Permanent Secretary supervised the distribution of sanitation equipment to service providers who come into direct contact with visitors and guests.
At least, 140,000 pieces of facial masks and 14,285 containers of hand disinfecting sanitizer liquid, to at least ten tour directors’ and mountain guides associations with 16,000 members between them in Arusha and Kilimanjaro Regions.
The Executive Secretary for the Tanzania Tourism Confederation, Richard Rugimbana, said it was crucial for operators to ensure safety measures continue to be taken as the new tourism season kicks in.
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