Tanzania seeks direct flights from China

Improved service could provide a boost for tourism as nation proves a good source of visitors

The Tanzania Tourist Board is rooting for direct flights from China to Tanzania to attract more Chinese tourists to the East African country, a move that will reduce the costs of flight connection.

TTB Chairman Thomas Mihayo says that increasing the number of tourists from China will largely depend on reliable and affordable air links between the two countries.

"Efforts are underway to encourage Chinese airlines to open direct routes to Tanzania. This will in turn open and shorten the route to Dar es Salaam," says Mihayo.

Direct flights would likely increase the number of Chinese tourists from the current 20,000 to 100,000 by next year and 300,000 by 2025, he says.

Mihayo says that while the number of tourists is increasing, the shortage of flights to Africa safari destinations such as Tanzania makes travel difficult.

Irene Mville, the TTB's tourism officer, says China is gradually proving to be a good source of tourists for Tanzania and that the number of Chinese tourists going to Tanzania has grown in the past two years.

"Transport challenges, especially the absence of direct flights from China to Tanzania, are a serious impediment to Tanzania's tourist marketing efforts in China," says Mville, adding that market promotion for Tanzania as a tourist destination will help more Chinese to be aware of such attractions as historical places, wildlife viewing and beaches, as well as culture.

Currently, Chinese tourists to Tanzania depend on connecting flights from such airlines as KLM, Emirates, Kenya Airways and Ethiopian Airlines.

Tanzania has a wealth of tourist attractions from the coast to its western border. The country has several wildlife areas, game parks and game reserves, wetlands, lakes and mountains. Three of the Seven National Wonders of Africa are found in Tanzania: Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Crater and Mount Kilimanjaro.

Tourism is crucial for Tanzania's economy, contributing to a quarter of the country's foreign exchange and supporting over half a million jobs directly or indirectly.

In 2004, then Chinese president Hu Jintao agreed with then Tanzanian president Benjamin Mkapa to open the doors for Tanzania's tourism. In March 2013, President Xi Jinping took up the matter with former Tanzanian president Jakaya Kikwete and agreed to make Tanzania a leading destination for Chinese tourists.

It is expected that China's outbound tourism market will grow to 100 million visits by 2020, making the Beijing International Travel and Tourism Market an opportunity for the rest of the world to claim a share of this expanding travel market.

Last year, China and Tanzania signed an Agreement on Destination Status that gives the green light for selected tour operators in China and Tanzania to conduct tourism business.

For China Daily

(China Daily Africa Weekly 09/01/2017 page26)