Tanzania: Poor Roads Hinder Tourism in Ruaha National Park

Ruaha National Park authorities have appealed to the government to build a modern road at the area to boost tourism.

Acting Chief Park Warden, Maronda Maronda, said lack of a reliable road hampers the development of the area. He said the majority of tourists from within and outside the country face many hurdles when visiting the park due to the pathetic road state.

"Most roads leading to the park are in poor condition to the extent that visitors fail to reach the game reserve," he said adding, "There was a time when some visitors came to the park but failed to accomplish their mission because of bad roads."

Maronda said improvement of the roads should go hand in hand with improvement of the airstrip in Iringa to allow many tourists visit the park. The Park Tourism Officer, Tatindaga  Mdoe, said poor roads cause the game park to lose substantial income. On average, the game park receives between 23, 000 to 25,000 tourists per year.

She said the majority of tourists fail to visit the park, denying it a huge chunk of income. Ruaha is the largest National Park in Tanzania covering an area of 20,226 square kilometres. It is located in south-central part of the country.