With an average rate of 1000 visitors per month, the Mkomazi National Park in Kilimanjaro Region is becoming yet another popular tourist destination in Tanzania’s Northern Circuit.
Mkomazi, due to its performance has been placed on fast-track to be upgraded to B-Clubs status.
Home to the special breeding site for the Black Rhino, Mkomazi recorded nearly 8000 visitors during the seven months period between July 2024 and January 2025.
Bordering the Tsavo National Parks of Kenya, on the side of the border, Mkomazi, mapped within the ‘Same’ district of Kilimanjaro as well as ‘Korogwe’ and ‘Lushoto,’ in Tanga, targets to receive an average of 11,800 tourists in 2025, according to the Tanzania National Parks’ Assistant Commissioner of Conservation, Emmanuel Moirana.
Apart from serving as a special breeding site for the endangered black rhino species, Mkomazi introduced a special tourism package into the special zone where the ferocious horned mammals are being reared and tourists can get as close to them as possible, though in the safety of their vehicles.
“The black rhino tourism package sailed in July 2021 and has proved to be popular among visitors with the number of tourists visiting the site growing annually,” Conservator Moirana maintained.
According to the official, Mkomazi will soon be included in the ‘B-Clubs’ of National Parks that yield billions in forms of revenues realized from tourism activities, having collected 939 million/- in the first seven months of the current fiscal year.
Mkomazi targets to record over 1.2 billion/- within this year alone.
The Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA) Commissioner of Conservation (CC) Musa Nassoro Juma Kuji, who recently visited the area, commended the Mkomazi management for their efforts that has pushed the Park to enter the ‘Golden Goose,’ status of B-Clubs.
But there were great efforts to reach the status; for instance, the government has injected over 4.6 billion/- to upgrade the Mkomazi Park infrastructure funds realized through the Tanzania Covid-19 Social Economic Response and Recovery Plan (TCRP) devised by President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
“The money has been invested to implement various projects including rehabilitation of roads, construction of three visitor’s entrance gates, rehabilitation of two air strips, and the procurement of one vehicle,” the Mkomazi conservator, Dr Moirana explained.
“Now that the park is experiencing a growing number of visitors there is the need to increase accommodation facilities, build more roads and airstrips, and increase the number of staff,” said the Mkomazi warden.
Geoffrey Kyando, is the Conservation Officer in charge of Business Development who listed the countries that have been sending visitors to Mkomazi National Park as Germany, the United States, United Kingdom, Asian Countries, India and France in addition to domestic tourists.
Mkomazi which is promoted as the ‘Home of Black Rhinos’, measures 3,234 kilometers square and according to Kyando the National Park is mapped into three major zones, offering different attractions including outstanding ecology, the rhinoceros zone, the Pare Mountains cultural significance and assortments of other wildlife species including the lion, giraffe and elephants among others.
On his part Edward Kimaro, the Conservation Ranger I, said the special Black Rhino Tourism tremains the most sought after package in Mkomazi though there is also the Wild dog project which is also growing in popularity.
Mkomazi National Park is located in northeastern Tanzania along the Kenyan borderline was established as a game reserve in 1951 and upgraded to a national park in 2006.