Royal Tour boost as Ngorongoro set to collect Sh200 billion by June

Dar es Salaam. The Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA) anticipates a tourism revenue surge of Sh200 billion by June this year. Much of the growth is attributed to the 'The Royal Tour Film' campaign.

The NCAA highlighted that the ‘Tanzania: The Royal Tour’ film, produced to boost tourism both domestically and internationally, has led to a significant rise in park visitors. In the previous financial year, the number of visitors reached 752,232, a notable increase from the 191,614 visitors recorded in 2020/21.

“We are confident of meeting our target, given that in the first half of the current fiscal year, we collected a total of Sh123 billion. This marks a 13 percent increase compared to the same period in the previous year,” said the NCAA conservation commissioner, Mr Richard Kiiza.

Year over year, the NCAA’s revenue went up from Sh31 billion in 2020/21 to Sh171 billion in 2022/23.

The commissioner told the editors and journalists from various media houses on February 26 in Dar es Salaam in a meeting organized by the office of the Treasury Registrar (TR) with the aim of building capacity on the progress of public institutions that the amount collected was the highest ever by the authority.

He further indicated that the number of visitors expected to visit the park is projected to continue rising, potentially reaching approximately 1 million visitors by June of this year.

“During the first half of the financial year, we welcomed 534,065 visitors, marking a 10 percent increase compared to the number of visitors who visited the park during the same period the previous year.”

Regarding the voluntary relocation exercise of citizens from NCCA to Msomera, he noted that it is progressing well, as evidenced by the increasing number of requests from those wishing to move.

“We are receiving a lot of requests from families who want to relocate voluntarily. Within a short period, there will be villages remaining without people,” he insisted.

As of February 25 this year, a total of 1042 households, comprising 6,461 people and approximately 29,919 livestock, have voluntarily relocated from within the conservation area.

In terms of corporate social responsibility, the NCAA has been actively sponsoring education initiatives for the local communities so as to enhance the welfare of indigenous residents and foster self-reliance.

The conservation commissioner said by February 2024, a total of 5,249 students had been sponsored for education in various colleges and schools.

During the meeting, veteran journalists Mr Said Nguba and Mr Salva Ryeyemamu both urged the NCAA to ensure clarity regarding the relocation of residents from the park to Msomera.

"There is a gap of understanding on relocation of residents, therefore it would be a good idea for the NCAA to consider sending journalists to the park to get the clear picture," said Mr Rweyemamu.