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1st EAC Regional Tourism Expo 2021
TANZANIA HOSTED 1st EAC REGIONAL TOURISM EXPO
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The 1st East African Community Regional Tourism Expo (EARTE) 2021 was held from 9th to 11th, at TGT grounds in Arusha, Tanzania. The United Republic of Tanzania in conjunction with the EAC Secretariat hosted a three-day Expo, which was later followed by familiarization trips for semi-hosted international buyers and media to some of the iconic tourist sites like Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Kilimanjaro, Mkomazi, Mafia, Zanzibar, Kilwa and Pugu Forest Hills from 12th to 16th October. As a region, East Africa is endowed with a unique combination of tourist attractions comprising tropical beaches, abundant wildlife in natural habitats, scenic beauty, mountains and a geographically diverse landscape that spark imagination."
The theme of the Expo was “Promotion of Resilient Tourism for Inclusive Socioeconomic Development” The theme was developed due to the need to develop the tourism sector in a sustainable manner following the devastating impact on the sector by the COVID-19 pandemic. The travel and tourism sector, globally was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic more than any other economic sector.
The overarching objective of the EARTE 2021 was to promote EAC as a single tourism destination, provide a platform for tourism service providers’ business to business (B2B) engagements, create awareness on tourism investment opportunities and address the challenges affecting the tourism and wildlife sectors in the region.
The EARTE 2021 comprised exhibitions by the tourism service providers, speed networking and B2B meetings and seminars on tourism and wildlife sub-themes. In respect to the tourism sector,
these sub-themes revolved around aspects such as tourism resilience and crisis management, digital tourism marketing, development of multi-destination tourism packages and tourism investment opportunities and incentives. On the other hand, wildlife related subthemes include Combating Poaching and Illegal Wildlife Trade and Economic value of wildlife in the region.
According to the Guest of Honour the EAC Secretary General, Hon. (Dr). Peter Mathuki, while opening the expo on 9th October, 2021 he said that, “the EAC region lost close to 70% of international tourist arrivals in 2020 coupled with massive losses in tourism earnings and tourism related jobs. Similarly, wildlife conservation in the region suffered a major blow from the pandemic through loss of conservation revenue most of which is generated through tourists visiting the protected areas and wildlife conservancies across the region.
The “EARTE 2021” was the perfect event in reviving the EAC tourism following the unprecedented decline caused by COVID-19. Also, EARTE will bolster intraregional tourism in addition to international tourism through promotion of the tourism product offerings for the EAC citizens.
The event was closed on 11th October, 2021 by the Honourable Hussein Ali Mwinyi, Zanzibar’s President and the Chairman of the Revolutionary Council by welcoming international buyers and media to visit and explore the natural beauty, historical heritage and investment opportunities available in Zanzibar and Tanzania at large. He added by saying that tourism has been an integral component of the Blue Economy policies that have been formulated by the Zanzibar government, by making use of ocean resources for economic growth, improve livelihood, and job creation while preserving the ocean ecosystem for the present and future generation.
Prepared by Betrita James Lyimo Acting Director of Tanzania Tourist Board Dar-es-salaam
Picture Courtesy of Paul Mzungute
