AfricaPress-Tanzania: THE private sector has been urged to utilise domestic tourism opportunities.
Speaking after leading a delegation of 30 people from the private sector, including entrepreneurs who visited Burigi-Chato National Park recently, Kagera Regional Commissioner Brig Gen Marco Gaguti said lack of domestic tourism awareness was a challenge and an opportunity for players in the private sector to utilise and contribute to national economic building.
He said the upgrading of Burigi-Chato, Ibanda Kyerwa and Rumanyika Karagwe national parks was in line with government efforts to improve tourism in Kagera Region.
“This is a golden opportunity not to be missed as it will increase the number of tourists,” he said.
The government, through Tanzania National Park (Tanapa), has been upgrading game reserves to national parks to improve the tourism sector.
For instance, the establishment of Nyerere, Kigosi and Mtongala national parks will increase the number of national parks from 19 to 22 by 2021.
President John Magufuli launched Burigi Chato National Park on July 11, last year, and called on the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism to ensure it explored more tourist attractions in the country to attract more tourists.
The park, which is close to Lake Victoria and the border with Rwanda, is near Kagera River and Lake Burigi.
The government established the national park as a game reserve in the 1970s and it was in May 2018 that four other reserves were promoted to national park level.
The five game reserves with the total number of 5,526sq km, which were upgraded and combined to form Burigi-Chato National Park and respective their kilometres in brackets are Biharamulo (1,300), Burigi (2,200), Kimisi (1,026), Rumanyika (800) and Ibanda (200).
Head of Tourism Department at Burigi Camp Kevin Nkulila said visitors were primarily touring Burigi-Chato National Park to view large animals and birds.
Various types of wild animals are found in Burigi Chato National Park, which include elephants, giraffes, zebras, buffaloes, leopards, topi, errands, hippopos, crocodiles and antelopes.
