Tanzania Old Navy Association’s Veteran Sailors Use Global Travels To Promote Tanzania’s Tourism
Tanzania continues to gain positive visibility as a crucial global tourism destination following a patriotic move by local veteran sailors to organise a special strategy to promote the country’s tourism attractions to the world through special tours.
According to the high-profile Tanzanian sailors, they are using their experience of travelling across continents and visiting different countries to promote Tanzania as a tourism destination.
The purpose, they said, is to visit attractions within the country so that, upon returning to the places where they work, they can share first-hand experiences about what Tanzania has to offer.
Chairman of the Tanzania Old Navy Association, Mr Mohamed Said Ngamba, said that while abroad, on board ships and through the media, they witnessed the efforts by President Samia Suluhu Hassan to promote Tanzania through the Royal Tour initiative, which inspired them to recognise their own responsibility to contribute to the campaign.
He said the sailors established the association with the aim of bringing them together to share ideas and participate in activities aimed at promoting Tanzania, noting that their profession gives them opportunities to travel and interact with people from different countries.
He informed that they began their visits by touring Mikumi National Park and have now visited the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, with plans to travel to Mount Kilimanjaro and other attractions to gain first-hand knowledge of the destinations they will be promoting.
He said he was impressed by the scenery and wildlife he encountered in Ngorongoro, including lions, rhinos, zebras and hippopotamuses, adding that he plans to return to experience and appreciate what he described as one of Tanzania’s greatest treasures.
For his part, the association’s Secretary, Mr Daniel Masele, said the visit was part of their plan to encourage both Tanzanians and international visitors to explore the national parks and tourism attractions available in the country.
Mr Masele added that upon entering the Ngorongoro Crater, they witnessed its unique environment and the wildlife inhabiting the area, adding that the experience had broadened their understanding of what they could tell people outside Tanzania.
“We, sailors, have travelled to various parts of the world, but some of the attractions we have seen in Tanzania are unlike anything we have encountered in other countries we have visited,” he said.
He therefore stressed the importance of Tanzanians themselves taking time to discover and appreciate the country’s tourism attractions.
The sailors who made the visit include Omary Said Kipelele, Siwatu Hassan Sembi, Fahad Mohamed and Miraji Omary.
They expressed their commitment to using the opportunity to encourage their relatives, friends and other contacts living abroad to visit Tanzania.
They thanked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, Ambassador Dr Mahmoud Thabit Kombo, for supporting their tour, saying the initiative had given them an opportunity to experience Tanzania’s attractions first-hand and become ambassadors for the country wherever they travel.