The Hindu : New Delhi News : Tanzania woos Indian tourists

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Friday, Jun 20, 2008
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Tanzania woos Indian tourists

To woo the high-end leisure travellers from India, the Tanzania Tourism Board on Thursday announced the launch of its first ever marketing initiative in the country.

Spearheading an 11-member trade delegation from Tanzania comprising tour operators, members of the hospitality industry and representatives of national parks, Tanzanian Minister of Natural Resources and Tourism Shamsa Selengia Mwangunga said at a pres s conference that India figured among the high potential emerging tourism source market from Asia.

“The Tanzanian tourism industry is keen to explore productive business ties with key Indian outbound players to target the high-end leisure traffic from here. We want to position our adventure tourism, rich game viewing and beach holiday attractions to potential Indian tourists. Our current marketing initiatives in Delhi and Mumbai are a step in this direction. Tanzania today has emerged as a stand-alone international destination attracting 724,000 arrivals from across the globe in 2007,” she added.

Stating that her country had a long-term plan to penetrate the burgeoning Indian market, the Minister said that her trade team has already had talks with local tour operators in Delhi. “For the Indian market, our tourism board is keen to position its national parks offering the best of a wilderness experience through 15 national parks and 32 game reserves. The country is inhabited by over 120 different tribes and innumerable flora and fauna species,” she added.

Explaining the rich diversity of flora and fauna in his country through an audio-visual presentation, Tanzania Tourism Board managing director Peter J. Mwenguo said the Serengeti National Park sees migration of hundreds of thousands of wildebeests, zebras and gazelles every year. “The Serengeti National Park is one of the most breathtaking sanctuaries. It was accepted by the World Heritage Convention as a world heritage sight and biosphere reserve in 1981. Then we have Mount Kilimanjaro which is the highest free-standing mountain in the world. Then there is Zanzibar that is the spice island with white palm fringed beaches. It also has a romantic, colourful history of seafarers and explorers.”

Madhur Tankha

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