Ngussa: Fashion model’s mission to promote Tanzania tourism

As we approached the gate, the ticket handed to me immediately caught my attention. On it was a dark-skinned, slender model who one might think was from South Sudan. However, after watching her grace the stage, I discovered that she is actually Judith Ngussa, a 24-year-old Tanzanian model.

‘Is this your first runway?’ I asked her as I grabbed a glass from the table next to where she was standing.

With a slight laugh, she responded, ‘By no means. I have been to many modelling events,’ she insisted. ‘I have been a model for a long time,’ she said. At such a young age, Judith started her journey in Dodoma as a student at the University of Dodoma (UDOM), majoring in Chinese. She later became Miss Dodoma 2019 while simultaneously engaging in charity work, helping homeless senior citizens by providing them with food and clothes whenever possible.

Last year, Judith won Miss Tourism Tanzania 2022, competing against tens of contestants from across the country.

With the core purpose of promoting tourism in Tanzania and abroad, Miss Tourism has been running for close to a decade now.

Never one to shy away from competition, Judith also participated in Miss United Nations and travelled to India, where she discovered that Tanzania is more widely known and popular than she could have ever imagined.

Representing Tanzania, she was crowned Miss United Nations World, receiving a handsome pay check and a job. ‘While in India, we competed against contestants from 60 countries, and almost all of them knew about Tanzania, the Serengeti, Zanzibar, and Mt Kilimanjaro,’ she recalls.

When leaving Tanzania, Judith brought several DVDs of The Royal Tour, the tourism documentary featuring President Samia, as well as a few books on Tanzania’s tourism. ‘I did share the DVDs and books, but of course, Tanzania is well-known.’ Judith often faced the annoying question that many Tanzanians are tired of answering.

‘Some people would walk up to me and ask if Mt. Kilimanjaro is in Tanzania or Kenya,’ Judith said with a frustrated look.

‘But I would politely tell them that the mountain is in Tanzania and encourage them to visit,’ she said.

On the last day, Judith took the stage and delivered a speech during the Miss United Nations event, captivating the audience as she talked about Tanzania, its national parks, natural attractions, and the white sandy beaches of Zanzibar.

Judith knows first-hand the beauty of exploring her own country. As an avid swimmer, she visited Zanzibar and immediately felt a different breath of fresh air upon docking at the port. She later went for a swim, recalling, ‘The water there is so crystal clear; it’s paradise.’

She also visited Paje and Stone Town but was disappointed to see that most visitors were from Europe and America. She wished more Tanzanians would travel and witness the beauty of their own country. ‘Raising awareness among Tanzanians is a must so that they can travel,’ she insisted.

‘I feel ashamed that other people know and travel to my country more than we do,’ she regretfully murmured.

Miss Tourism Tanzania did not participate on a global scale last year, which prevented Judith, as the winner, from travelling. However, through the Miss United Nations world beauty pageant, she ultimately got the opportunity to promote Tanzania’s tourism on the global stage.

Domestic tourism has increasingly become a lucrative business, and the Miss Tourism beauty pageant has played a key role in promoting it in various ways.

When it comes to the traditional dress code, contestants walk the runway donning attire representing different tribes of Tanzania as they try to win over the judges.

Judith, for her part, wore a dress made of mistletoe tree leaves on the runway. ‘In competition, you have to get creative and represent all Tanzanian cultures,’ she said.

In addition to being a model, Judith works as a drama teacher and educational assistant at the International French School. In her spare time, she is a clothes designer, and she firmly believes that it gives her a competitive advantage in all the pageants she competes in.

Miss Tourism Tanzania has been instrumental in promoting our tourism to the world while also showcasing our diverse culture, which encompasses more than a hundred tribes. Tanzanians get the chance to learn about our shared traditions, values, and culture while watching the beautiful models walk up and down the runway. Beauty and design have been utilised to brand nations worldwide.

By looking at someone’s appearance and attire, you can easily identify an Ethiopian or Indian lady in a crowd.

Other nations have taken advantage of this and used it to brand their countries and promote tourism. In the case of Ethiopia, their national airline, Ethiopian Airways, has utilised their women and outfits as a marketing tool. In this perspective, do Tanzanians have a ‘common’ look?

In a country filled with different ethnicities and tribes, do we need a physical or facial feature as an identity?

If not, do we at least have a national outfit? If not, can we start now? I posed these questions to Judith.

‘My skin is very dark, so most people confuse me for a South Sudanese. It is difficult for someone to identify me as a Tanzanian based on my looks,’ she said.

While most African clothes are batik and African prints, and even the Khanga is not exclusively Tanzanian, Judith believes that Tanzania already has its own national attire.

“Most people don’t know this, but I believe that if you look at our national emblem, the coat of arms, Bibi na Bwana outfits could be our national attire,” Judith revealed.

Surprisingly, this is a new revelation to me. The debate on what cloth represents us may be far from over, but Judith’s idea could bring a new perspective to the discussion.

Comparatively speaking, Miss Tourism Tanzania is seen as a less glamorous pageant compared to Miss Tanzania.

However, Miss Tourism could uniquely be used to promote responsible tourism, conservation, and anti-poaching campaigns, mainly among Tanzanians living in communities surrounding national parks with endangered and hunted animals.

The government, the Tanzania Tourist Board, and potential sponsors must step up and give this beauty pageant a facelift, with the media providing more coverage to the annual event, all in the name of promoting Tanzania’s tourism.”