Tourism in Tanzania

Tourists in the Ngorongoro Crater

Tanzania is a country with many tourist attractions. Approximately 38 percent of Tanzania's land area is set aside in protected areas for conservation.[1] There are 16 national parks,[2] 29 game reserves, 40 controlled conservation areas (including the Ngorongoro Conservation Area) and marine parks. Tanzania is also home to Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest point in Africa.

Travel and tourism contributed 12.7 percent of Tanzania's gross domestic product and employed 11.0 percent of the country's labor force (1,189,300 jobs) in 2013.[3] The sector is growing rapidly, rising from US $1.74 billion in 2004 to US $4.48 billion in 2013.[3] In 2012, 1,043,000 tourists arrived at Tanzania's borders compared to 590,000 in 2005.[4]

Tourist attractions

Sunset in the Serengeti

Tanzania's most well known tourist attractions are located in the northern part of the country and include Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain. Serengeti National Park is world famous and has spectacular seasonal migrations of animals.[5] The Ngorongoro Conservation Area includes the Ngorongoro Crater, which is an extinct volcanic caldera[6] with lions, hippopotamus, elephants, various types of antelope, the endangered black rhinoceros, and large herds of wildebeest and zebra.[7] Lake Manyara, Kilimanjaro, Arusha, Rubondo Island, Tarangire, and Saanane Island national parks are also located in the north.

The western part of Tanzania includes the Mahale, Katavi, and Gombe national parks, the latter of which is the site of Jane Goodall's ongoing study, begun in 1960, of chimpanzee behaviour.[8][9]

The southern part of Tanzania includes the Ruaha, Kitulo, Mikumi, and Udzungwa national parks and the Selous Game Reserve.

Tourism is also focused on the coast, including Saadani National Park and especially the islands of Unguja and Pemba in Zanzibar and Mafia Island further south. Game fishing and diving are the main attractions in these islands.[6]

There is also a wide variety of destinations for cultural tourism such as Maasai boma[10] and Bushmen settlements.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The Impact of Dominant Environmental Policies on Indigenous Peoples in Africa", authored by Soyata Tegegn, in Indigenous People in Africa: Contestations, Empowerment and Group Rights, edited by Ridwan Laher and Korir SingíOei, Africa Institute of South Africa, 2014, page 57, accessed 16 October 2014
  2. ↑ "Home". Tanzania National Parks. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 World Tourism and Travel Council Data, 2013, accessed 28 October 2014
  4. ↑ United Republic of Tanzania, UNData, Statistics Division, United Nations, accessed 22 October 2014
  5. ↑ "Serengeti". Tanzania Tourist Board. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Boniface, Brain G.; Cooper, Christopher P. (2001). Worldwide Destinations: The Geography of Travel and Tourism. Butterworth-Heinemann. p. 247. ISBN 0-7506-4231-9.
  7. ↑ "Ngorongoro Conservation Area". Tanzania Tourist Board. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  8. ↑ "Gombe Stream National Park". Tanzania National Parks. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  9. ↑ Nature's Strongholds: The World's Great Wildlife Reserves, authored by Laura Riley and William Riley, Princeton University Press, 2005, page 138, accessed 16 October 2014
  10. ↑ "Visiting Maasai Boma". Visit Arusha. Retrieved 1 April 2014.

External links

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Tanzania.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tourism in Tanzania.
Government ministries and agencies