The city of Dar es Salaam recently launched a program entitled the ‘Dar es Salaam waterfront clean-up day’ in order to better clean up the shoreline along the Indian Ocean and to, thereby, attract more investors to the Tanzania tourism sector.
According the Daily News, Mr. Adam Kimbasa, the city mayor of Dar es Salaam has said that investors have not taken enough advantage of the beaches along the Indian Ocean and should, therefore, begin considering new ways to best use the ocean in order to both attract new tourists and to turn a profit.
The clean-up day in Dar es Salaam was organized by a collaboration of stakeholders and sponsors that was led by the Dar es Salaam City Council and Sustainable Cities, which is a non-governmental, Canadian-based organization whose focus is to undertake sustainability projects in urban areas.
According to Patrick Santoro, the Project Coordinator of Sustainable Cities, once the area has been cleaned and properly developed, the waterfront area of Dar es Salaam has the potential to significantly benefit the public especially in the area of tourism.
“The purpose of the ‘Waterfront Clean-Up Day,’ is to remove the garbage and beautify the area that surrounds the waterfront,” said Mr. Santoro, “After cleaning, the eventual goal is to revitalize the area by attracting some arts, crafts, food vendors and entertainment users.”
Mr. Santoro went on to say that the area around Dar es Salaam was capable of offering its residents and visitors the opportunity of experiencing and appreciating the unique relationship between the city and its historic waterfront.
“An enjoyable waterfront in Dar es Salaam has the potential to create significant public benefits, including environmental clean-up, recreational and park space, arts and cultural uses [as well as] increased tourism and job creation,” said Mr. Santoro.
According to Mr. Kimbasa, while the population of the city has expanded, thus far, its infrastructure has remained the same and,therefore, increased investment along on the shorelines will not only help to improve the infrastructures, but will also help to keep ensure that the beaches near the city remain clean all the time.
“It is high time we invested in water transport [because] for instance, it would be easier to travel between Bahari Beach on the outskirts of Dar es Salaam city and the City center by sea,” said Mr. Kimbasa.
In order to accomplish this, Mr. Kimbasa has called upon the Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB) to advise the government on how best to utilize the water and the shoreline along the Indian Ocean in order to attract tourists.
