Tourism Fair Organisations Join Together in Northern Tanzania.

Leading tourism and travel exhibition organisers in Northern Tanzania – the Karibu Fair and KILIFAIR – have recently joined into a single tourism and travel exhibition entity, aiming to gain more mileage in tourism and travel trade in Africa.

The newly-formed tourist exhibition entity have organized a joint tourism show that will take place in the Northern Tanzania’s tourist town of Moshi in the Kilimanjaro region, the first of its kind in East Africa.

The two travel trade show organisers – Karibu Fair and KILIFAIR – have recently joined into a single tourism exhibition, and organisers expect to pull in more partners and key players in the tourism industry across East Africa and the entire African continent.

Reports from Arusha and Moshi are that all the leading safari centers in Tanzania said the two travel trade exhibition organisations have joined together, aiming to add more mileage in the tourist business in Africa.

The first touring exhibition under an umbrella of the two travel trade organizations is expected to kick-off in Moshi from June 1-3 of this year with expectations to attract over 350 exhibitors, mostly from Eastern, Southern, and Central Africa, plus hosted and semi-hosted buyers from the rest of Africa, Asia, Europe, and America. About 4,000 trade visitors are expected to participate in the 3-day tourism fair, reports said.

It was also reported that the 3-day event that will take place at the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro and will be the first of its kind in East Africa by its magnitude of exhibitors, visitors, and travel trade gatherings to take place on the course of the event.

Under such a special arrangement, Karibu Fair and KILIFAIR fair will annually alternate between Moshi and Arusha. The other such joint tourism fair will take place in Arusha next year, the Executive Secretary of the Tanzania Association of Tour Operators (TATO), Mr. Siril Akko, said.

He said the two travel trade organizations have aimed to create the largest and most important tourism trade fair in East Africa under one roof.

The Karibu Travel and Tourism Fair (KTTF) were established about 15 years ago with high-end success in tourism development through its annual shows in Arusha.

The KTTF 2017 is the premier East African regional tourism show and one of the top two “must-visit” events of its kind in Africa with a superb, secure, and more convenient venue in a natural setting with an ideally-designed layout, making it the biggest and only outdoor tourism fair in Africa.

Standing as the most competitive and dedicated travel market that brings the Eastern and Central African region and the world under one roof, providing overseas tour agents with an ideal platform to maximize their networking opportunities, KTTF has been listed among competitive travel shows taking place in Africa.

KILIFAIR stands as the youngest tourism exhibition entity to be established in East Africa, but, has had succeeded in making a record-breaking event by attracting a magnitude number of tourism and travel trade stakeholders.

The KILIFAIR exhibition targets to promote Tanzania as an African safari destination, focusing on global tourists visiting northern Tanzania and Mount Kilimanjaro, the premier tourist zone of East Africa.

Mount Kilimanjaro is the leading tourist attraction in East Africa and pulls in crowds of visitors all year round. The annual fairs include days of business networking and workshops for the tourism industry aiming to boost Tanzania tourism, as well as tourism in the Kilimanjaro region, a fast-growing locality on the African continent.

Attracting exhibitors from different African countries, the premier KILIFAIR Exhibition takes place in May or June every year, drawing a sizeable number of exhibitors, travel trade visitors, buyers and sellers from various corners of Africa, as well as guests from other parts of the world.

Moshi and Arusha are the leading safari capitals in Tanzania, taking advantage of the premier wildlife parks, including Ngorongoro, Serengeti, Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Arusha, and Mount Kilimanjaro.

The two safari towns are well connected to global tourist networks through Nairobi, the Kenyan capital city, and the East African safari hub.

Tanzania's Big Win At the Oscars a Plus for Tourism

Tanzania might not have had any expectations at the 2018 Oscars but they were East Africa's biggest winners on the night.

Ugandans of course were hoping that British-born Daniel Kaluuya would win Best Actor for his role in the horror comedy film Get Out, and Kenyans were crossing fingers for Watu Wote, nominated for the Best Short Film.

Following Academy tradition, Oscar nominees were treated to lavish swag bags from sponsors from marketing company called Distinctive Assets.

Here is the Tanzanian connection. This year the nominees received really extravagant gift bags with more than $100,000 worth of goodies including an exclusive voucher for a 12-night luxury safari in Tanzania's Serengeti National Park.

The voucher covers adventure-packed excursions during the day and luxury lodges and tents at night, surrounded by the famous Big Five and wildebeest, zebra, hyenas and other abundant wildlife.

Luxury safaris don't come cheap and this is a big boost for Tanzania tourism which has been on the rebound lately, proving that the marketing, quality and product offering are paying off by attracting big spenders. And they don't come bigger than Hollywood's A-list.

Tanzania is also the only country in the region whose tourism advertising graces the stadia hosting the English Premier League games.

To give perspective to the 12-day safari, the goody bag entails not one, not two, not three but four vacations. There is a stay at Avaton Luxury Villas Resort in Halkidiki in Greece, which overlooks the Athos Peninsula and the Aegan Sea, where the gods supposedly lived.

Then there is a week-long stay at Koloa Landing Resort at Poipu in Hawai'i. It's a luxury five-star resort with waterfalls and it's very own tropical rain forest.

Last is a week-long spa trip at the Golden Door in southern California for indulgence at the popular celebrity SoCal spa, Golden Door. It offers massages, skin, body and hair care.

Other gifts include a conflict-free diamond necklace. Among those who received the goody bags are Gary Oldman, Frances McDormand, Meryl Streep and Margot Robbie who was nominated for Best Actress for her role in I, Tonya as disgraced US figure skater Tonya Harding.

Wildlife in Major game Reserves face Threat as Mara River Dries up

Kenya’s Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, and the adjoining game-controlled areas have only one year-round river, the Mara. However, the drought that has continued ravaging various parts of the country now threatens wildlife in the world-famous parks as the as the Mara River, which serves as the heart of tourism in these areas is on the verge of drying up.

It is evident that the water level in the key river has reduced drastically, portending danger in the near future. The destruction of the Mau Forest complex, the source of the river, has been blamed for the current situation. The drying up of the river spells doom for tourism prospects at the Maasai Mara Game Reserve.

ANIMALS DYING:

A spot check of the river reveals that crocodiles and hippos are dying as the Mara and its tributary, Talek River, are drying up. Wildebeests and zebras, among other wild animals, have been crossing the dry river beds, heading to Tanzania to seek for greener pastures.

In some parts of the river is now just a small channel.

Crocodiles and hippos are competing for pools of water that remain along the almost drying river. Conservationists also argue that the Mara ecosystem is now more polluted than ever before and is still under enormous threats arising from human activities. The Mara is a trans-boundary resource shared by Kenya and Tanzania and it covers an area of 13,500 square kilometres with 65 percent of it being in Kenya.

ECOLOGICAL DISASTER

The conservationists warn that the drying up of the Mara River whose source is the Mau Forest is one of a series of ominous signs that could lead to an ecological disaster. The river covers three counties of Bomet, Narok, Kericho and Nakuru which also are part of the Mau Forest ecosystem, a critical catchment of the Mara River basin.

“This climate change issue and occupation of the Mau Forest is negatively affecting wild animals and is causing changes in their breeding grounds, animal populations, increased animal deaths, changes in migration routes and patterns,” said Mr Parmataro Lemein, a wildlife scientist based at Matira camp.

Mr Lemein’s concerns are inspired by the irregular flow of the Mara and its main tributary, Talek River, which has become more and more extreme, with conservationists warning it might cause a collapse in the wildebeest populations, thus hampering the entire migration cycle that sustains the Maasai Mara-Serengeti ecosystem.

FIGHT FOR SPACE

“Aquatic life is being threatened here. Hippos and crocodiles are fighting for space in the pools of water that equally have turned dirty due to stagnation. The water is diminishing, causing stress to the underwater animals and often (resulting in) regular fights over territory,” added Mr Lemein.

The Mara-Serengeti ecosystem coordinator Nick ole Murero noted that there has been constant migration and dispersal of wildlife in the recent past and attributed it to the changes in climate and destruction of the Mau Forest, the source of the river.

“The climate in the Mara is becoming unbearable. The animals tend to move to other areas where they can be able to survive. The Mara River is a source of life but there is no water,” said Mr Murero. He said thousands of hippos, elephants, wildebeests, and buffaloes have migrated to Serengeti park in Tanzania after several streams and water dams within the Mara dried up.

POPULATION GROWTH

Local tour operators and hoteliers have so far raised the red flag over the current human population growth rate coupled with excessive exploitation of natural resources within the core areas of the Mara River basin.

However, all is not lost.

Last week the Narok County government imposed a permanent charcoal ban and logging following widespread outcry over loss of forests, a fact that continues to expose Kenya to the vagaries of climate change.

Governor Samuel ole Tunai’s announcement came two days after Deputy President William Ruto suspended logging in all forests in the country for the next three months as water levels in major rivers countrywide continued to drop at alarming levels.

LOGGING BAN

Mr Tunai said all logging activities in Mau Forest, Nyakweri Forest in Transmara, Enoosupukia Forest in Narok East and Loita Forest in Narok South have been banned and declared illegal.

“We are also rolling out a massive afforestation programme to plant trees in the Mau and along the riparian areas of the Mara River,” said Mr Tunai. Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala hailed the ban on charcoal burning and logging by both the county and national governments, saying it will go a long way in saving both human and wildlife along the Mara River basin.

“The Mara River ecosystem is the lifeline of people in this region. There is therefore an urgent need for communities living along the basin to embrace the conservation efforts being put in place.”