How stakeholders’ commitment drive tourism growth in Mikumi

TANZANIA: TALK of Mikumi National Park, you are talking about Tanzania’s fourth-biggest national park and additionally it’s the most open site West of Dar es Salaam along the Dar-Mbeya Highway.

In quick analysis, it is park is endowed with spectacular concentration of wildlife which are rarely seen in other parks like magnificent Sable antelope, African hunting dog, blue wildebeest, Lichtenstein’s hartebeest and others hover around.

This is where the Minister of Natural Resources and Tourism Ambassador Dr. Pindi Chana (MP) with various stakeholders, including Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA) and financial institutions like the NBC Bank recently visited the park and commended its management in improving the number of tourists visiting it.

The Minister attributed the significant increase in the number of international tourists visiting Tanzania to the government’s initiatives, led by President Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan, and the concerted efforts of all stakeholders in creating a friendly environment, where business also grow to woo investors.

For example, during the 2023/24 financial year, the number of international tourists entering the country rose by 96 per cent, from 900,022 in 2021 to 1.8 million in 2023.

On this rise, she added: “For the Mikumi National Park alone, the number of visitors increased from 46,517 in 2020/21 to 138,000 in 2023/24, a remarkable 198.48 per cent growth.

“This remarkable achievement is as a result of a collective effort by the government, the park management, and all the stakeholders, including the surrounding communities. Well done!”

During the visit, Ambassador Dr. Chana had the opportunity to inspect various projects aimed at improving the services offered at the park, including the construction of visitor reception and resting facilities (picnic sites), the renovation of the Kikoboga airstrip within the park, building visitors’ entry gates, the establishment of a Visitor Information Center (VIC), and the project to connect the park to the national electricity grid.

In her speech she said: “The completion of these projects will not only increase the number of tourists but also enable larger aircrafts to land at the Mikumi National Park, and in turn, this will allow 140 guests to be accommodated at a go,”

Elaborating, she outlined the government’s plan to establish a dedicated visitor entry gate at the Kilosa District’s high-speed rail (SGR) station- a move that will further boost the influx of visitors to the Mikumi National Park and create employment opportunities for the surrounding communities, including the villages of Mbamba and Kilangali.

“The most crucial aspect is to ensure that these improvements are accompanied by the delivery of high-quality services. I kindly request that the services be provided in accordance with the laws and regulations governing this sector, including the issue of employment for tourism service providers, which should consider essential qualifications such as education,” she pointed out.

Commenting, the TANAPA Conservation Commissioner, Nassoro Juma Kuji noted that to enhance and promote the tourism sector, which have resulted in a substantial increase in the number of tourists. It was wise to implement President Samia’s approach of enhancing all sectors growth to woo visitors and investors.

He noted that this in turn significantly boosted the sctor’s revenue, reaching 337.5bn/- in the 2022/23 period.

On his part, the Mikumi National Park Chief Conservation Commissioner, Agustine Masesa, also expressed gratitude to the various stakeholders for their active participation in making the celebrations a success, while acknowledging the invaluable contributions of the partners including NBC Bank in fostering the growth and well-being of the vital sector.

Emphasising on the importance to improve the park, Morogoro Branch Business Development Manager Joseph Boaz narrated how the bank took a leading role in the 60th-anniversary celebrations of the Mikumi National Park in Morogoro, reaffirming the bank’s commitment in developing its tailored financial services that caters to the diverse needs of Tanzania’s tourism stakeholders.

He said that the strategic move by the bank was aimed at complementing the government’s initiatives in attracting a larger influx of tourists to the country by ensuring that key players in the tourism industry, including tourists, have access to exceptional financial services.

Particularly, during the minister’s visit to the NBC Bank’s exhibition booth set up within the celebration grounds at the Kikoboga football stadium in the park, where the lender was one of the primary sponsors of the commemorative event, he added that the bank’s involvement was is a testament to its strong and longstanding collaboration with various tourism stakeholders, including TANAPA.

His list also included TANAPA’s employees, tourism service providers, and the countless tourists who visit the country’s diverse tourism sites, citing the Mikumi National Park.

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“It is this deep-rooted partnership that has enabled us to be at the forefront of developing a wide range of financial solutions tailored to facilitate the delivery of services within the different tourism sites across the country,” he explained.

“We have also been empowering various players in this sector through our specially designed services, including business loans, diverse insurance products, and seamless payment options through our ‘NBC POS Machines’,” he added.

Furthermore, the bank’s digital platform, known as ‘NBC Connect,’ has been instrumental in enabling TANAPA and other tourism-related companies to access banking services conveniently online.