Tanzania is hoping to woo international tourists into its borders by upping the number of tourists’ attractions in the country.
This has seen the government focus on upgrading game reserves into fully fledged national parks.
Tanzanian President John Pombe Magufuli is expected to kick start this ambitious plan with the commissioning of the Burigi-Chato National Park on Tuesday.
The government is taking advantage of Chato Airport to open the North-East tourist circuit.
The Park is situated close to Lake Victoria, on the border with Rwanda, and is surrounded by the Kagera River and Lake Burigi.
The national park was created by the government in the 1970s as a game reserve and in May, 2018 promoted together with other five to form National Parks.
Tanzania tourism minister Hamis Kigangwalla said the current upgrade and focus on national parks would support the government’s initiative to increase revenues from the tourism sector.
“The newly promoted National Parks will open up a new tourism circuit in the North Western parts of and Lake Zone of Tanzania,” Dr Kigangawalla said.
The park is It is home to a wide collection of wildlife, including elephants, buffaloes, antelopes, lions, leopards, zebras, giraffes, chimpanzees and gorillas.
In 2018, a total of 1.49 million tourists visited Tanzania, generating $2.43 billion for economy, up from the $2.17 billion generated in 2017 when the country hosted 1.33 million tourist arrivals.
Tourism is among the country’s to economic pillars contributing an estimated 17.6 percent to the GDP.
