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| Tanzanian President John Magufuli |
REGULAR visits of the national leaders and their family in the country’s tourism attractions can enhance domestic tourism and its contribution to the economy. Lake Manyara National Park Chief Warden, Noelia Myonga, said leaders and influential figures could easily influence and create new visitors to the national parks hence increase domestic tourisms.
“The visits of the national leaders and other influential figures is important in influencing the public in an endeavour to promote domestic tourism,” she said after hosting a delegation of 23 staff from the Open University of Tanzania who toured Lake Manyara National Park this week.
She said the number of tourists visiting Lake Manyara National Park has grown to 1,690 in the year 2016/17 from only 139 in 2012/13. She said the development of a domestic tourism industry offers the opportunity to generate a more diverse and economically sustainable tourism industry. Domestic tourism is an educational process for the environment since it plays an important role in influencing public decisions.
According to the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) monthly economic review for the year ended September earning from tourism 2,231.2 million US dollars compared to 2,276.7 million US dollars of the comparative period last year. Ms Myonga said for example, the visits of the national leaders and their families in tourism attractions worked out in Gombe National Park after managing to increase the number of local tourists to 1,600 in just few years.
“This strategy can play important role here in Lake Manyara National Park and in other tourism attractions in the country,” she said the visits of the national leaders and their institutions can influence the public. She said the efforts to promote domestic tourism in Manyara National Park in government and private institutions, in schools, public rallies and workshops.
Apart from its capacity to create jobs, reduce poverty and foster human development and environmental sustainability, tourism benefits a country in a more number of ways and brings immense opportunities for an all-inclusive growth.
The leader of the Open University of Tanzania (OUT) staff who visited Lake Manyara National Park, Dr Ladislaus Batinoluho, lecturer at the university said religious leaders can influence their followers and play important role in promoting domestic tourism which is key to country’s development.
