Phenomenal tourism potential that lies idle in southern TZ

        Many are the times that we take our blessings for granted. For example, we fail to be grateful for good health, quality education, blessed relations, and so on, and so forth. It’s human nature to yearn for what we don’t have – while we fail to appreciate what’s in our hands, in our lives.

More often than not, our ingratitude is due to abject failure to appreciate the value of what we already have. Usually, this happens at the individual, communal and national levels. For our beloved motherland Tanzania, we have uncountable blessings by Mother Nature which are usually realised and appreciated by foreign tourists, journalists and other entities than by Tanzanians themselves!

This is a classic case study: ‘Ruaha National Park named one of the best places to visit in the world.’

This was a joyful revelation by a newspaper of no mean reputation, The Citizen, on Wednesday.

It was after the acclaimed National Geographic Travel recorded the iconic park in its ‘Annual Best of the World List,’ ranked at 21. This is likely to make ‘Ruaha’ one of the most sought-after destinations for nature tourism in the world! he question then is: how many Tanzanians know that the park is such a gem? How many, indeed?

Some travel magazines and websites describe the park as one of Africa’s “best-kept secrets!”

We could talk for hours about its fauna and flora. But, sadly, as a tourist destination, Ruaha receives only a few visitors per year – despite its size, its natural wonders... The Big Question is: WHY?

In Tanzanian Mainland, the northern tourism circuit has been widely marketed as a ‘never-miss’ tourist destination over the years. Its popularity as a ‘must-go-to’ destination is based on such marvellous tourist sites as the Serengeti, Arusha, Tarangire and Lake Manyara national parks, and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

Unlike the northern circuit, the southern tourism circuit hasn’t been very successful as a tourism destination. Apart from Ruaha National Park, it also boasts Selous Game Reserve (touted as one of the largest reserves in the world), the Udzungwa and Uluguru Mountains, and Mikumi National Park, among lesser-publicized attractions.

Safari websites generally describe the southern circuit as ‘remote,’ ‘wild,’ noting that there’re ‘most remarkable’ sights in Tanzania – is but less known than the northern circuit.

The 2012 Tanzania Tourism Statistical Bulletin stated that the southern corridor tourism accounted for less than ten per cent of all visitors to Tanzania’s national parks – and less than 1.5 per cent of park revenue.

In 2015, ‘A Strategy for Tourism Development in Southern Tanzania’ was crafted at the request of then-President Jakaya Kikwete, with the main aim of guiding coordinated tourism development in the corridor.

The strategy recommended a ‘travel south campaign’ (domestic and international) among other things, led by a special task force. The report candidly stated that ‘limited awareness of attractions in Southern Tanzania prevents potential visitors from discovering the products and generating more demand.’

Surely, Tanzanian tourism must move beyond the northern circuit to other regions.

What, for example, about western circuit attractions like the Biharamulo, Burigi, Ibanda, Rumanyika and Orugundu game reserves? The Rubondo, Saanane and the Mahale Mountains National Park?

Do we market them? Yet, some tourist websites describe Kagera as one of the loveliest parts of Tanzania bestowed with staggering scenic beauty!

The list of nature-based attractions goes on and on. If Tanzania’s tourism potential were realised in full, the annual economic growth could exceed ten per cent.

We should start counting our blessings – and use our nature-based attractions for greater national gains.

Ms Jumanne is an assistant lecturer, Dar es Salaam University College of Education