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| Kagera Region |
PLANS were underway for an investment forum aimed at identifying the tourism value chain available in Kagera Region.
L-Vic Investments Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr. Anic Kashasha told reporters that the investment forum is due to be held for two days on December 28-29, this year.
“This is a special investment forum to be held for the first time in Tanzania. Stakeholders will utilise the opportunity to identify key tourism areas suitable for investments. Various topics will be presented allowing extensive discussions”.
“Among topics include tourism policy guidelines, attractive potentials available in Kagera Region and value chain experiences by tour operators, hoteliers, tour guides and cultural organisers,” he said.
This will be the second investment forum to be held in Kagera Region.
In August this year, Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa invited investors both local and foreign to invest in Kagera Region by constructing medium and large processing industries due to its conducive environment and political tranquility.
The move comes few days after another initiative on new Tourism Fair and Investment Forum aimed at exposing tourism opportunities found in the Lake zone and Kigoma Regions so as to attract foreign and internal tourists to visit attractions found there was introduced.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, Prof Adolf Mkenda told the region administrative secretaries (RAS) from Lake Zone and Kigoma Regions in Mwanza recently that emphasized on the need to speed up the process of establishing tourism and investment fair in the region.
He said that the agreement made early December this year to plan strategies and enable the envisioned Tourism Fair and Investment Forum to take place so as to expose some tourism attractions and opportunities found in Lake Zone and Kigoma Regions they made agreement to speed up the process in order to present the idea to the regional commissioners and ministers for implementation.
Tourism is a sector which contributes a lot of money into the national coffer through the national parks, game reserves and forest reserves which are also found in the Lake Zone and Kigoma Regions but until now about 80 percent of tourists visit in northern part of Tanzania to observe Mount Meru, Kilimanjaro, Serengeti, Manyara, Tarangire since places were exposed long time ago.
The Lake Zone and Kigoma Regions can make good tourism attractions since there is a number of natural attractions found like the presence of national parks and forest reserves mentioning Sanane Island, Ibanda, Kyerwa, Burigi, Lubondo, Lake Victoria and Kijereshi which have variety of wild animals, birds, snakes, crocodiles and other attracting creatures.
“From now there is a good communication network in this area like a large Mwanza Airport, good road transport and marine transport what is needed is to announce these opportunities so that they become well known, this will open investment from the private sector to devote to do business,” he said.
He added that for the country to succeed in tourism sector there is a need to open other areas which were not known previously while having a lot of tourist attractions and Lake Zone is a unique area so the government has a role to play to encourage private sectors to join so as to speed up the process.
Mwanza Region Administrative Secretary (RAS), Mr. Christopher Kadia who was a Chairperson of the meeting said that their aim was to work hard to ensure the tourism sector is able to stand in Lake Zone and Kigoma Regions to enable the nation to collect a lot of revenue.
He said that what is supposed to be done was to open new tourism opportunities by embarking on a big campaign to expose the area to the wide audience through tourism fair and Investment Forum.
Tags: Investment Forum in Kagera Region, Tanzania
