By Lake Zone Watch Writer
Some international companies engaged in the tourism industry have shown interest to invest in Tanzania in such sub sectors as hotel, transport and advertising, Minister of Natural Resources and Tourism, Angellah Kairuki, has disclosed.
The Minister is in Berlin, Germany, leading a Tanzania delegation to attend the ITB Berlin Convention, an International Travel Trade Show which has attracted 10,000 exhibitors from more than 180 countries and regions.
ITB Berlin (Internationale Tourismus-Borse Berlin) is the world’s largest tourism trade fair. The companies represented at the fair include hotels, tourist boards, tour operators, system providers, airlines and car rental companies.
“I am happy to have met with owners of Germany’s TUI Group, a giant company with 400 hotels worldwide, 16 luxurious tourist vessels, five airlines and more than 1,200 transport companies,” the minister said.
The minister said already TUI Group has invested in the Zanzibar archipelago and in June this year will open its ninth hotel while in Tanzania Mainland, the same firm is opening air travel for tourists to visit national parks.
She used the face-to-face meeting with TUI Group authorities to urge the German company to increase investment in the hotel industry and aircraft fleet to ferry more tourists to many of Tanzania’s attractions.
Kariuki also met with senior officials of a US and Puerto Rico-based international company which annually transports 1.2 million tourists. The company has promised to despatch 40 travel agents in May this year to visit various places in Tanzania.
Similarly, in attracting investors in the tourism industry, the minister held talks with Expedia Group and another company from Slovakia seeking cooperation on enhancing advertisements of Tanzania’s tourist attractions.
On his part, the Executive Director of the Tanzania Tourist Board, Damas Mfugale, said Tanzania’s participation at the ITB Berlin Convention was a catalyst to the country in increasing the influx of holidaymakers.