The Tanzanian government will be working closely with the private sector to grow tourism numbers in the Lake Zone region.

This was announced by Deputy Minister of Tourism, Constantine Kanyasu, at a joint meeting between the Tanzanian Tourism Ministry and tourism stakeholders from across the country, and came in the wake of recent upgrades to the status of the Burigi, Biharamulo, Kimisi, Ibanda, and Rumanyika forest reserves to national parks.

Improved infrastructure in the area, including upgrades to the roads leading to the national parks, Mwanza and Chato airports, have made the area more attractive for investment by tourism stakeholders. He said many tourist attractions, which would now be more easily accessible, had low numbers, so more investment as well as stronger promotion of the sites to international tourists were needed to increase visitors to the areas.

Chairman of the Tanzania Association of Tour Operators, Wilbard Chambulo, added that government should look into the possibility of not changing the tourism development policies, which include tour operators being subjected to 32 charges, including business registration fees, regulatory licence fees, entry fees, income tax and annual duties for each tourist van. Another policy is the administrative burden of completing the issuing of licences, tax, and levy paperwork, which are costly and take too much time.