Tanzania is quickly becoming one of the best destinations for vacations, offering everything from snow capped mountain climbing to pristine white sandy beaches.

KILWA, KILWA, TANZANIA, May 29, 2015 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Dar es Salaam. As the world marked, the World’s Tourism Day on September 27, Tanzania was named as the most sought after destination for leisure travel among middle income class communities.

This is an important milestone for the country, which has been blessed with numerous national and internationally renowned tourist attractions and cultural heritages that have been drawing the attention of the world.

The tourism sector contributes approximately 15 per cent to the national GDP and foreign currency worth $1.5 billion (Sh2.4 trillion) per annum. It also provides employment opportunities for more than 1.2 million people. Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB) statistics indicate that by December last year, Tanzania had received 1,077,000 tourists, reflecting 18.8 per cent increase from 874,500 tourists received in 2011.

Even though this shows that the industry is growing remarkably, experts say the nation needs to do more to improve it by setting out frameworks and strategies on service delivery as well as stepping up security for tourists.

The ministry of Tourism and Natural Resources projects that Tanzania will hit the 1.6 million tourist arrivals mark by 2015. However, this needs concerted strategies in place to ensure that the target is achieved.

In 2012, The New York Times named Tanzania in the 7th position out of 45 most preferred destinations in the world. But recently (2013), a new survey by an online travel agency, CheapOair, ranked Tanzania number one on the list of most sought after destinations in the world. Mr Richard Rugimbana, the Tourists Confederation of Tanzania (TCT) chairperson, underlines the need to set strategies for service delivery, peace and security. He says, even if the country targets to receive 1.6 million tourists by 2015, it should go an extra mile to achieve that.

“We need to review our tourism policy which has been in place since 1999... The policy can no longer cope with numerous changes and reforms that have been taking place...We need to have skilled, competent and conversant people to work in the sector. Tourism is not like going shopping, it is rather the experience people have when visiting the country that can make them recommend to others too to try it out,” he adds.

On labour, he says human resource is a big challenge due to lack of tourism colleges that can cater for the growing market needs.

To address the issue, Mr Rugimbana urges the government to support available training institutions to produce as many quality graduates as possible. The United Nations World Tourism Organisation forecasts a 50 per cent growth in Africa’s tourists arrivals over the next nine years – a massive increase from the current 50 million visitors.

Dek Kivulii
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