Ruaha National Park to launch hot air balloon tourism

Iringa. Ruaha National Park, located in the southern Iringa region, is set to launch hot air balloon tourism as it celebrate the 60th anniversary with a series of special events.

The park’s chief conservator, Mr Godwell Ole Meng’ataki, said the celebrations scheduled to start from October 1 to 7, 2024, will include tours of various groups such as people with disabilities, religious leaders, traditional elders, and other distinguished guests.

He said the historic event will serve as a platform to introduce the new form of tourism—hot air balloon rides—expected to attract a large number of tourists.

"We have also invited various stakeholders in the tourism sector, including scholars, tourism experts, investors, conservationists and the local community to attend a special symposium which is held as part of the celebrations," he said.

The symposium aims to discuss the challenges and opportunities in the tourism sector, while also introducing the new hot air balloon tourism product that is anticipated to become a key attraction for visitors.

Mr Meng’ataki said that the celebrations come at a time when the government is preparing to improve the tourism sector in the southern circuit.

Ruaha National Park under the Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA), being one of Tanzania's major tourist attractions, is expected to benefit from the government efforts.

The Minister of Natural Resources and Tourism, Dr Pindi Chana, is expected to be the guest of honor during the grand event of the celebrations, scheduled for October 7, 2024.

Tanzania tourism sector has recovered from the negative effects of the global Covid-19 pandemic.

Official figures now put the number of tourist arrivals at a record 2.026 million.

The figures, published by the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) show that these tourists brought in a record $3.534 billion during the year ended July 2024.