Olduvai Gorge revenue rebounds
Dar es Salaam. The revenue collected from tourists at Olduvai Gorge doubled to Sh666.2 million in the year ending March this year.
That happened as cultural tourism has started picking up.
The gorge earnings account for 75 per cent of Tanzania’s cultural heritage sites, but its revenue fell in the last three years. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism data shows that the revenue peaked to Sh1 billion in 2012/13, but plunged to Sh383.9 million in 2015/16 following a drop in the number of visitors.
“Generally, we see people becoming more and more interested in cultural tourism than in wildlife viewing. Some visitors want to see different things, not animals they have seen in other countries,” said the head of Cultural Tourism Promotion and Communications in the ministry, Mr William Mwita.
Mikindani Trade Aid project manager Emmanuel Mwambe urged the government to repair the sites to attract more tourists. “Tourists are now shifting from safari tours to cultural tourism and the sites that are unique. For example, Mikindani has 50 historical buildings but only four have been renovated,” he said, adding that it is important for the government to renovate them to attract more tourists and increase revenue.
Tourism is Tanzania’s leading foreign exchange earner which is bringing in about $2 billion per year.
