A PLANE carrying French tourists jetted in the country on Friday, eliciting excitement among players in the industry.
Ethiopian Airlines A350-900 flight landed at Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA) with more than 200 French tourists on board.
Tanzania Tourism Board (TTB) Marketing Manager, Dr Gladstone Mlay said it was encouraging to see French people choosing Tanzania as their preferred Safari destination.
The arrival of the French tourists, according to Dr Mlay, lends the tourism board more impetus in marketing the country.
“We are pretty much sure that this is just the beginning of an even more influx of tourists visiting our country,” he said.
Dr Mlay equally commended the government for according his office necessary support in marketing and promoting Tanzania’s attractions.
The arrival of the French tourists comes a few days after a team of 14 travel agents, accompanied by seven renowned Chinese media houses, jetted into the country for a familiarisation tour.
The agents are due to visit a number of attractions in the country with the view of promoting the destination back in China.
Tanzania’s tourism sector is seeing a rebound after the Covid-19 pandemic—and the aspirations for its continued growth are high. By 2025, the country hopes to reach 6 billion US dollars in tourism revenue, which assumes the influx of five million tourists annually.
Before the pandemic, tourism was the largest foreign exchange earner, the second largest contributor to the gross domestic product (GDP) and the third largest contributor to employment.
According to the Tourism and Natural Resources Ministry, strategies aimed at bolstering the sector include shaping domestic tourism, diversifying tourism products, boosting competitiveness and intensifying marketing.
The list of strategies also includes improvement of tourism infrastructure, launching of white rhino tourism in Burigi, Chato and Mikumi National Parks, as well as preparation of a strategy meant for spurring conferences and events tourism.