Tanzania Voted Africa’s Best Tourism Destination in 2021

On 21st October 2021, the Serengeti park in Tanzania won for the third consecutive year the World Travel Awards for Africa’s Leading National Park category.

Tanzania–with its national parks, wildlife, and palm-fringed beaches–was also voted “Africa’s Leading Destination“.

Other Tanzanian winners this year include the archipelago of Zanzibar that won the title of Africa’s Leading Beach Destination, the Four Seasons Safari Lodge in the Serengeti National Park, which won the title of Africa’s Leading Luxury Safari Lodge, and the Thanda Island that won the title of Africa’s Leading Luxury Island.

The World Travel Awards was established in 1993 to acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence across all sectors of the tourism industry.

Graham Cooke, Founder of the World Travel Awards, commented: “Our winners represent the very best of travel and hospitality in Africa and the Indian Ocean, and my congratulations to each of them. They are all playing starring roles in spearheading the travel and tourism recovery.”

Tanzania Tourism

Tourism is Tanzania’s primary foreign exchange earner. The sector was severely hit in 2020 after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

After a record of 1.5 million international tourist arrivals in 2019 and USD 2,604.5 million in tourism revenues, in 2020 arrivals fell to 616,491, and travel receipts declined by 59.2% to USD 1,061.6 million.

However, in July 2021 monthly services receipts increased to USD 253.5 million, compared with USD 140.2 million in July 2020, attributed to an increase in travel receipts, suggesting a gradual pickup of tourism activities from last year.