Marking the annual World Tourism Day, Tanzania’s tourism executives and stakeholders celebrated the occasion with commitments to cooperate with other nations in Africa and around the world.
The World Tourism Day 2023 event took place in the country’s northern tourist city of Arusha at the Gran Melia Hotel where tourism experts, travel and hospitality industry partners gathered to attend an array of discussions with the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) experts. The high-profile gathering had drawn over 400 key tourism executives and travel partners from African and the key tourist markets across the world to discuss the future of tourism through sound investments and innovation solutions for economic growth and productivity.
World Tourism Day 2023 celebration took place in Tanzania’s tourist capital to coincide with other countries in the world and international community in addressing a new tourism investment strategy. Targeting to fostering collaboration with international partners on enhancing and developing its tourism, Tanzania had also participated the World Tourism Day celebration held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Tanzania’s Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism Ms. Angellah Kairuki led a delegation of top tourist officials to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to join other world tourism executives for the World Tourism Day.
While in Riyadh, the Tanzanian tourism minister had met then held discussions with counterpart minister from Israel, Indonesia, Myanmar, Honduras, Senegal and Sierra Leone among the 45 other ministers who participated the event in Saudi Arabia.
The Tanzanian tourism minister was also present at the launch of a $1 Billion Tourism and Hospitality School in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Set to open in 2027, the Riyadh School for Tourism and Hospitality is part of Saudi’s grand vision to diversify its economy and boost the tourism sector.
The minister said that Tanzania is keen on partnering with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for training of Tanzanian tourism and hospitality staff and will be holding discussions with the country’s Minister of Tourism to explore how Tanzanians can benefit from the Saudi’s Tourism and Hospitality school.
She also met various investors, including hotel owners then attracted them to invest in Tanzania to increase its accommodation capacity to cater to the growing number of tourists expected to reach five million the next two years. Saudi Arabia Tourism Minister Mr. Ahmed Al Khateeb had announced in mid-this week, the official launch of the Riyadh School for Tourism and Hospitality during the 2023 World Tourism Day celebrations.
The Riyadh School project will cost over $1 billion and is expected to open in 2027 in its new campus in Qiddiya, an entertainment megaproject in Riyadh whose building started in 2019. It will be open for every person to enjoy excellent training in tourism and hospitality, Mr. Al Khateeb told the World Tourism Day delegates. Al Khateeb further expressed the Kingdom’s great enthusiasm and said the premium tourism school was a “gift from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the world,” as it “will be open for every person to enjoy excellent training in tourism and hospitality.”
Saudi Arabia is currently making a substantial investment of more than U$800 billion in the tourism and hospitality sector development aiming to generate one million jobs over the next ten years to anticipate international arrivals expected doubling by the year 2032. Tanzania is currently looking to promote trade, investment and tourism opportunities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, talking an advantage of the cordial relationship between these two friendly states.
Saudia Airline’s direct four flights per week between Tanzania and Saudi Arabia between Julius Nyerere International Airport in Tanzania and Jeddah International Airport had attracted then increased a flow of tourists and business travellers between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Tanzania. Saudi Arabia has been extending its support to Tanzania through King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre through health services at the Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute (JKCI).
A team of 33 cardiac doctors from Saudi Arabia under the auspices of King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre visited Tanzania in August and September last year and successfully performed open heart surgeries for 74 children at Cardiac Hospital. Hosted in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the World Tourism Day 2023 official celebrations had attracted more than 50 Ministers of Tourism alongside hundreds of high-level delegates from the public and private sectors across the world.
