Meeting Of Tour Operators And Travel Agents
Tanzania hotel wants East Africa promoted as single tourist destination
Corridor Springs Hotel, located in Tanzania, wants East Africa (EA) to be marketed and promoted as a single tourist destination for higher returns. The hotel, which recently hosted the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) conference in the city of Arusha, intends to sponsor a meeting of tour operators and travel agents from around EA to discuss how to boost the tourism industry in the region.
Last week, John Njoroge, the hotel's general manager said that tour firms and travel agents from thye East African Community (EAC) member states would be invited for the meeting to take place in Arusha in February next year. He said the hotel has initiated the idea, because it felt the region was not marketed jointly by the five member states - Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Burundi, and Rwanda - as a result of which it was not cashing much from the visitors.
He added that tourists from abroad visiting the region should be enabled to travel in all preferred destinations within EA and that bottlenecks hindering free movement of people should be removed.
"It would be to our advantage if EA becomes one tourist circuit instead of the current situation where each country operates on its own," he said, adding that he had already contacted relevant authorities on the planned conference to be hosted at his hotel.
He described the CPA conference as a boon for his hotel, which is owned by the Arusha Diocece of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania (ELCT) and which was opened in December last year. The multi-storied facility is located along Engira road in the low-density suburb of Arusha.
The facility, built at a cost of US$6 million, has 60 rooms, 4 restaurants, and 8 conference halls/meeting rooms with a capacity ranging from 10 people to 500 delegates.
Comments
To hell, let Tanzania fully realize its potentials and not the neighbours take full advantage of Tanzanian's resources! When will Tanzania ask itself what do they get in turn if they are to advertise as a single tourist destination? What can Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda offer to Tanzania that as a country cant offer? When will people realize where is Mt Kilimanjaro or Zanzibar Island if until now Kenyans have been and are going to keep distorting the facts! Shouldn't Tanzania also use the same dirty tactics forinstance taking a chunk of land off Serengeti and name it Maasai-Mara since they also have Maasai people and river mara passes tanzania on the way to Lake Victoria apart from having Mara Region?
While taking advantage of what others are blessed of Kenya is complaining of South Africa to have taken their Hakuna Matata, safari and jambo slogans as if they inverted Swahili towards World Cup according to EA Standards! This is really hypocrism! Is Tanzania taken advantage of its resources? Why should Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi take advantage of what they don't have? what do they give Tanzania? Everybody should advertise on his/her own to realize his/her full potentials
This is the way to future, enlarged destination area offers a big variety of possibly attractions and activities for tourists to chose from. For a long time now, individual Private Tour Operators have always been marketing the region as one since most sell Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda & Rwanda safaris and cannot discriminate when marketing our products in all International travel trade fairs.
The honors is on our Governments particularly Kenya and Tanzania to iron out the policies to allow for respective tourism marketing boards to be able to host and participate in joint trade fairs sharing stands as East Africa. while on the ground restrictions such as closure of critical entry points from Mara to Serengeti need to be addressed and allowing Kenyan driver/guides to work in Tanzania without hustles from Authorities in addition to removal of other tariff barriers
On this proposed meeting by Corridor Springs Hotel, I would recommend the Tanzania Government, TANAPA and Tanzania Tourism Board to be present as they are critical players in facilitating such a collaboration which is long overdue.
Simon Njanja
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