tourists from kenya chosen tanzania

4th January 2010
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Wildebeest at Ngorongoro National park

Hundreds of tourists from Kenya have chosen Tanzania’s famous northern tourism circuit their most favourable destination for end of the year holidays, The Guardian can report.

For the last five days towards end of 2009, Ngorongoro Crater and Mount Kilimanjaro which is the world’s highest free standing mountain were destinations of choice for the Kenyans, thanks to the Tanzania tourism agencies for reviewing and harmonizing tariffs for park entry for East Africans.





“We are proud of ‘Africa's Eden’ and the ‘Eighth Natural Wonder of the World,’ which is none other than the Ngorongoro Crater” Silas Kinoti remarked and pledged extensive publicity of the place to encourage more people to visit one of the wonders of the world.

For his part, Charles Kirima, one of the visitors in a group of Kenyans said the purpose of the visit was to expose their children to the natural beauty which would remain the inheritance of the people of East Africa and humanity as a whole.

The common park entry tariffs for EA residents into Tanzania’s National Parks, he says, was the secret behind their decision to travel all the way from Kenya to Tanzania’s northern tourism circuit.

Residents of East Africa are currently enjoying the universal National Park entry tariffs with their Tanzanian counterparts. Tanzania National Parks Authority (TANAPA) recently directed all Chief Park Wardens to treat equally all the EA residents intending to discover nature into public game sanctuary.

As it stands now, Burundians, Kenyans, Rwandese, Ugandans and Tanzanians are paying 1,500/- for adults and 500/- for the children to visit any National Park in Tanzania per day.

Analysts believe the decision will boost the industry in the robust and flamboyant EA-Common-Market, with nearly 130 million consumers and a combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of nearly $60bn.

Way back in 2006, each of the pioneer three EAC partner states of Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda were charging separately. In Uganda the entrance fee to any of the country's National Parks, for one-day was $20 for foreigners, East African residents had used to pay $10 and residents are charged Ush. 5,000.

In Tanzania the entry fees to its two hot-spot National Parks of Mount Kilimanjaro and Serengeti for foreign tourists was $60 and $50 respectively. In Kenya the average fee to National parks was set at $30 per adult and $10 per student or one child, per day.

One of the twelve groups divided into five people bringing to 60 the number of Kenyan visitors for the day led by Kinoti had an opportunity to come face-to-face with the natural sanctuary for thousands of birds, insects and wild animals such as lions, zebra, black rhino and wildebeest.

The excited group burst into celebration, ululation, singing and chanting slogans of praise and clapping, saying that the natural beauty of the caldera reminded them of the Biblical Garden of Eden.

“This is the best place one should not miss and it is more well conserved than any national park in Kenya” Kinoti said.

The group was particularly impressed by the success story of multiple land use where pastoralism, conservation and tourism co-exist in a carefully managed harmony.

Ngorongoro crater, the "eighth wonder of the world" stretching across some 8,300 sq km, boasts a blend of landscapes, wildlife, people and archaeological sites unsurpassed in Africa. The volcanoes, grasslands, waterfalls and mountain forests are home to the wildlife and the livestock keepers, the Maasai community.

It borders the Serengeti National Park to the north and west.

The NCAA was established in 1959 to protect an area covering 8,300 square kilometers. Olduvai Gorge ("The Cradle of Mankind"), Lake Ndutu and Masek are also within its borders. Lush highlands surround the Crater, falling away to tawny plains and alkaline lakes of the Great Rift Valley.

Attractions of the EAC region comprise wildlife sanctuaries, such as Ngongoro, the Serengeti and Mt Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain, in Tanzania; the Maasai Mara reserve, and 48 wildlife Parks and reserves, including the Tsavo and Amboseli, in Kenya; and the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (famous for mountain gorillas), the Murchison Falls and Elizabeth Park in Uganda.

Famous beaches in the region include Dar es Salaam, Mombasa, Malindi and the islands of Zanzibar, Pemba and Lamu.

In addition, the world's second largest fresh water body, Lake Victoria, is shared by the three EAC countries. This is recognized as a world heritage Site, due to its rich Biodiversity.

The EAC trading bloc comprising Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Burundi and Tanzania has a combined population of 120 plus million people, with a land area of 1.8 million sq. kilometers.