DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania (eTN) – Taking advantage of US President George Bush visit to Africa mid-this month, tourist business stakeholders see another opportunity to market the African continent in United States through key world media links.
Tanzania, one among African tourist destinations to welcome the American president, is set to benefit from publicity by various US television channels and other media outlets.
Africa will benefit from Bush’s five day visit to Eastern and Western Africa through publicity of his trip in the countries of his visit, Tanzanian tourism stakeholders said.
Rising up as a new and upcoming destination, sub-Saharan Africa is not a perfect destination choice by many Americans compared to Northern African states and South East Asia.
US Ambassador to Tanzania Mark Green said President Bush’s visit to Tanzania would promote investments among Americans. Under Tanzania’s new economic diplomacy, tourism is on top priority investment sector.
Although Bush’s visit to Tanzania and other four African states doesn’t include a tourism agenda, Ambassador Green said the visit would add a value to Americans who will take their president’s visit to explore more on African investment opportunities. Tourism is on top in African business opportunities, reaping from the continent’s rich natural tourist attractions.
Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB) has been organizing various tourism promotional tours in the US to market Tanzania among Americans, and now Tanzania is advertising its attractions through CNN America in the campaign to attract more Americans.
With the ongoing volatile political situation in Kenya, Tanzania tourism stakeholders are taking Bush’s visit a welcome that will help to market Tanzania as a single destination rather than a package destination comprising Kenya.
They take the Bush visit as a kick-start to have Tanzanian tourism getting known in US through thousands of media outlets following the President’s itinerary. Other countries in his six-day African tour are Rwanda, Ghana, Benin and Liberia.
Tanzania is the host of two crucial conferences with tourism agenda in May and June this year with most participants coming from United States. The Eighth Leon Sullivan Summit will be held in Tanzania’s northern tourist city of Arusha early in June with expectations to attract about 4,000 participants from the US and Africa.
The 33rd Africa Travel Association (ATA) Congress is scheduled to take place from May 19th to 23rd with its key participants drawn from the African Diaspora in the US among other Americans.
Tanzania is mostly known by its rich and spectacular attractions made up of wildlife famous African parks of Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Selous and Tarangire with additional attractive Mount Kilimanjaro – Africa’s highest peak.
