Tanzania Aims to Draw More U.S. Travelers

Recently, Travel Agent had the opportunity to speak with the Tanzania Minister of Natural Resources and Tourism, the Hon. Shamsa Selengia Mwangunga, when she visited our New York offices. Mwangunga was in town to meet with tourism officials and organizations—including the Africa Travel Association, of which she was recently elected president.

The discussion mainly focused on the efforts that this East African country, home to Mt. Kilimanjaro and Ruaha (the largest national park in Africa), is making to attract tourists. These efforts seem to be paying off, as the nation has already exceeded the numbers Mwangunga had projected earlier this year. “This year, we have had more than 800,000 [visitors],” Mwangunga says—50,000 more than expected. She credits this increase to advertising and promotions. Internationally, Tanzania has been promoting itself with road shows to Germany, India, South Korea and Russia. A spotlight was also placed on the country when it hosted the Africa Travel Association Conference in May.

To reach U.S. travelers, its number-one source market, Tanzania’s tourist board has announced plans to continue its TV advertising campaign, “Tanzania—Land of Kilimanjaro, Zanzibar and the Serengeti,” on CNN, CNN Headline News, CNN Airport News and CNN.com.

Although the country is experiencing a strong year, there is still more it would like to accomplish, including attracting investors to explore building beachfront accommodations, as well as approaching major U.S. airlines to discuss direct flights from the U.S. to Tanzania. For more information, visit www.tanzaniatouristboard.com.