Boost for tourism as mega cruise ship docks at Dar port

AS tourism sector continues to gain momentum after two years of Covid-19 restrictions, over 1,000 tourists arrived in the country, on Thursday aboard the US based international cruise ship for a four-day tour in various tourism destinations.

The ship namely Zaandam that also carried over 573 crew members, docked at the berth number zero of the Dar es Salaam Port at around 8.00 am from Egypt.

While in the country, the tourists are scheduled to visit various destinations including Nyerere National Park, Bagamoyo, Zanzibar, and Mikumi as well as touring Dar es Salaam City.

Making the revelation, Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB) Acting Managing Director, Amos Nnko addressing the media noted that the visit is as a result of various efforts being made to market the country’s tourism.

“Some of the efforts include the idea of President Samia Suluhu Hassan coming up with the Tanzania Royal Tour film, and these are the results of the film,” he said.

Mr Nnko said “All these efforts are aimed at ensuring that the country meets a target of having five million tourists by 2025 as indicated in its five-year national development plan and the election manifesto of the ruling party-CCM.

“The royal tour film has played a crucial role in increasing the number of tourists coming to Tanzania…these people, who have arrived today are as a result of the efforts that are ongoing with the guidance of President Samia Suluhu Hassan,” he said.

He further said to assure the country’s strong determination to host tourists from all parts of the world, standard preparations in terms of infrastructures, accommodations and human resources have been put in place for them.

“Cruise ships are another product of tourism that we are promoting as it has a role to play in raising the number of tourists coming to our country from various nations,” he explained.

On his part, Dar es Salaam Port Acting Director, Mathew Anthony said the facility is well prepared to handle big cruise ships as part of efforts to support  development of the tourism sector, being one of the top contributors to the national income.

“The ship has docked at the berth number zero which is specifically for unloading vehicles from abroad, it’s a nice infrastructure that is capable of handling such international cruise ships,” he noted.

In a related development, he commended the government for its initiatives of promoting tourism and improving the port infrastructures, which have made possible hosting such huge cruise ships capable of carrying a total of 1,400 passengers and 600 crew members at a go.

Attending reception, were some Tanzania National Parks Authority (TANAPA) officers, Tanzania Wildlife Management Authority (TAWA) staff, saying the arrival of tourists will boost the performance of the tourism sector given that it’s a new product that is now picking up.

“We are glad to receive these international tourists; some of them will visit the Nyerere National Park, where they will have a new experience and nice adventures,”

Commenting, TAWA Conservation Officer, Stephen Madenge said apart from visiting the tourism destination, the tourists will be introduced to various areas of investment in the sector to tap.