Tanzania in ‘second’ place as Africa’s top safari destination
What you need to know:
Tanzania has three safari circuits and each one of them would make Tanzania a top wildlife destination. The popular Northern circuit with the Serengeti and Ngorongoro crater offers one of the best classical safaris in Africa, especially if timed with the annual wildebeest migration.
Dar es Salaam.
Tanzania was the winner in 2013 when SafariBookings conducted its first study to determine the best safari country in Africa. The same result was discovered in the second study in 2017 but that changed in 2018 when Botswana “narrowly defeated” Tanzania.
This year has seen Botswana strengthen its grip in the number one spot, although Tanzania remains a close second. It’s an understandable result given the unforgettable wildlife-viewing in Botswana, a country that epitomizes luxury in the bush and exclusive safari experiences.
“The diversity and concentration of wildlife found in Botswana is found in few other places in Africa – from the bright blue/green waters trickling over desert sand in the Okavango Delta to the roar of the black-maned lion reverberating around the Kalahari - not to mention salt pans which challenge as some of the largest on our planet. Botswana is a scene stealer,” stated the SafariBookings co-owner Mr Jeroen Beekwilder in an emailed statement. “Further investigation of our study reveals Tanzania as the best country overall for scenic value, while Botswana consolidated its ranking, heading up the wildlife, birding and bush categories,” he added.
Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park emerged the lead as the best African Safari park in 2015 and 2018, the same organization said.
Safari is one of Tanzania’s attraction for tourism which is currently the largest foreign exchange earner.
The number of tourists visiting Tanzania had risen from 1.3 million in 2017 to 1.5 million in 2018, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism.
The sector, which employs over 500,000 people, generated $2.59 billion in the year to September 30, 2019, according to the Bank of Tanzania.
