By JULIUS BWAHAMA, 18th August 2011 @ 12:00, Total Comments: 0, Hits: 1089
THE Third Tanzania World Tourism Day will this year focus on promoting cultural tourism.
The President of East Africa Speakers' Bureau, Mr Paul Mashauri, told a news conference in Dar es Salaam that the goal was to fuse flora and fauna with cultural tourism.
''This year, we will aim at promoting cultural tourism such as traditional dances and cuisine,'' said Mr Mashauri.
He said that the celebrations will begin on September 27 and continue up to November.
''On October 1, we will stage a street parade, which will resemble a carnival like the ones being held in Brazil. Here we shall aim at promoting traditional dances and other cultural events,'' he said.
The Consultant with the Tanzania Private Sector Foundation (TPSF), Ms Mary Kalikawe, who is one of the organisers, said the festival also aims at sensitising the community on the importance of promoting tourism potentials.
''In Tanzania the festivals were first marked in 2006 in Bukoba, in 2009 it was in Iringa and this year it will be in Dar es Salaam.
"Tourism is the second contributor of foreign exchange in the country and the biggest employer in the world. It is a very important sector," said Ms Kalikawe.
''In the celebrations we will also promote the Swahili Coast which includes Dar es Salaam, Unguja, Pemba, Tanga, Lindi and Mtwara among many others," she added.
The Executive Director of the Dar es Salaam Tourist Board Mr Charles Lupilya told reporters that it was high time Tanzanians visited their own tourist attractions.
''In Tanzania people think that a tourist is a white man. I urge my fellow Tanzanians to change this mindset.
''We also need to change our vacation activities; it should not only be going to the bar as it is nowadays. People should engage in other leisure activities such as going to the beach or visiting national parks or other tourist attractions,'' stressed Mr Lupilya.
He said that his organization aims at promoting tourism in Dar es Salaam and so far it has been engaged in training taxi drivers on how to handle tourists.
''We have also set up a city tourist information centre at Julius Nyerere International Airport where tourist can inquire about places to visit,'' added Mr Lupilya.
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