According to a recent report by The Citizen, Tanzania tourism stakeholders in the country’s Mwanza district had scheduled a meeting in the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) conference hall in order to discuss potential strategies for the promotion of tourism in the region, which is made up of 68 percent water, based on its inclusion of the Lake Victoria water body.
The two-day conference received its funding from the Mwanza City Council, tourism stakeholders, Netherlands International Development Agency, SNV, TCCIA Mwanza chapter, Fortes Safari and Tours, the regional secretariat and a special task force that was created earlier this year.
In spite of its being part of the second largest freshwater body on earth and its close proximity to Serengeti National Park, Mwanza’s regional commissioner, retired Col. Serenge Mrengo, is reported as having said that tourism in the region is still in its early stages.
According to The Citizen, Mr. Mrengo has indicated that the region is determined to seriously invest in the development of sustainable tourism in an effort to take advantage of the opportunities for increased revenue from the emerging sector.
“In addition,” said Mr. Mrengo, “Mwanza intends to showcase its tourist attractions to place them onto the country’s network of tourism circuits.”
Mr. Mrengo went on to explain that the addition of tourism would also help to stimulate the general economic stability of the region.
The conference between the stakeholders was expected to last for two days, during which time participants would study existing links between the economy and potential business ventures that could be used in order to create a strong base for tourism development.
In addition, the conference was also expected to investigate the awareness of the tourism sector amongst the regions residents in order to effectively include them in the promotion of the sector in throughout region.
“We will also assess the needs, including recruiting more workers in the tourism sector for the provision of service,” said Mr. Mrengo.
According to The Citizen report, included in the tourism stakeholders that were expected to attend the meeting were traders in the tourism sector from across the Lake Zone regions as well as the Ministries of Natural Resources and Tourism and Industry and Trade.
In addition to these participants, members of the Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC), the Tanzania Confederation of Tourism, PrecisionAir, the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA), the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA), the Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (TCCIA), as well as environment experts and activists were also expected to be in attendance.
