Kilifair and Karibu Tourism fair about to Open in Mount Kilimanjaro

Fabulous and premier tourism exhibition the Kilifair and Karibu Tourism fair is set for grand opening Friday this week with expectation to attract attracted more than 400 exhibitors from key tourist markets of Africa, United States and Europe.

The Kilifair and Caribou tourism exhibition organisers said that the event had attracted over than 280 tour companies from countries such as USA, Canada and South Africa.

Organised by KILIFAIR Promotion Company, the premier tourism exhibition will take place from June 1st to 3rd in Moshi on the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro, northern Tanzania.

Carrying a banner of “Your Gateway to East Africa Tourism”, the fabulous tourism exhibition is expected to provide  a networking platform for stakeholders from around the world to share experiences, establish new business relations and improve existing contacts, organizers said.

Organisers said the premier KILIFAIR 2018 tourism exhibition represents promotion of the Kilimanjaro region the home of Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa before the world through potential agents and buyers from Europe, America, Africa and Asia.

More than 4,000 visitors are expected to visit the three day event tourism fair which has become the biggest and most important Tourism Trade fair in East Africa. Tourist Boards from Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe, and Kenya have confirmed to participate in the fair.

About 100 foreign exhibitors are expected to participate the three-day exhibition that will boost Tanzania and East African tourism at regional and international levels.

Through a partnership with other regional tourist and travel trade exhibition organisers, KILIFAIR team is as well, expected to attend major fairs including the Magical Kenya, Pearl of Africa Uganda, WTM London, ITB Germany and WTM Africa in Cape Town.

Director from KILIFAIR promotions chief executive Tom Kunkler said the premier fair has introduced another indoor Tourism Expo in Tanzania and East Africa.

KILIFAIR and KARIBU Fair have recently joined into a single tourism and travel exhibition entity, targeting to market the African tourism on the foot hills of Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s tourist icon.

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

Under such a special arrangement, KARIBU Fair and KILIFAIR will annually alternate between Moshi and Arusha, then two sister tourist capitals in East Africa. 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 organisations 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) was established about 15 years ago with high-end success in tourism development through its annual shows in Arusha.

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, KARIBU Fair 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.

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.

Govt Directives Harming Tanzania's Tourism Sector

Tanzania's Parliamentary Standing Committee on Lands, Natural Resources and Tourism said on Monday that a decision by the government to revoke tourist hunting permits has discouraged investment in the key sector.

Reacting to budget proposals from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism yesterday, members of the committee told the National Assembly in the capital Dodoma that the move also violates wildlife laws and is a setback to growth of the industry.

Nape Nnauye, the House team chairperson, said the decision to revoke the tourist hunting permits is against the 2009 Wildlife Act and has made investors jittery.

"Section (38) of the Wildlife Conservation Act states that the lasting period for a hunting license is five years, but the ministry revoked the licenses three years before the lawful tenure," he said.

"An analysis by the committee has established that various statements by the ministry on the hunting blocks were against laws and not only did the statements discourage investors but they also subjected the government to losses in revenues."

Vunjo Member of Parliament, James Mbatia, also linked slower growth of the sector to arbitrary State directives that caused uncertainty. He pointed out that tourist arrivals had been increasing by about 13 per cent between 2012 and 2016 but grew by just three per cent in 2017.

"This is definitely caused by haphazard announcements and directives issued by the government," said Mr Mbatia today. He also noted that tour operators in Tanzania were over-taxed, saying it was a burden to sector stakeholders.

Hunting debate

The legislators' remarks are only the latest in a years-long debate on the contentious subject of trophy hunting.

Tourism Minister Hamisi Kigwangallah revoked all tourist hunting permits in October last year saying the licences would be re-applied through auction. In September 2015, the Tanzanian government came under pressure to suspend legal hunting but said it did not believe the practice had fuelled wildlife poaching.

Former Tanzania Hunting Operators Association chairman Eric Pasanisi said the proposed suspension of trophy hunt tourism will adversely affect wildlife conservation, as a large chunk of conservation funds come from the activity widely condemned by conservationists.

The neighbouring country has allowed trophy hunting over the years while Kenya banned the activity in the 1970s.

While licenced trophy hunters argue that it helps in the conservation of game such as elephants and lions, environmentalists say cash from controlled hunting safaris employs few Tanzanians and that earnings from it aren't significant enough to local communities to justify killing wildlife.

Apart from Tanzania, game hunting is also legal in Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Tanzania: Record 300 Tycoons Visit Serengeti National Park

Arusha — About 300 rich Australian traders are in the country on a game viewing experience of the country's famous National Park, Serengeti.

Seronera Airstrip in Serengeti was over the weekend overwhelmed by nearly 50 four-wheel drive vehicles that were waiting to receive the 298 tourists from Australia who landed in the national park for extended three day tour.

Natural Resources and Tourism Minister Dr Hamisi Kigwangala said the government was thrilled to receive the visitors, saying more strategies are underway to boost the sector. "We have already launched the strategy to attract more tourists and open up new markets in various countries, the coming of Australian tourists shows that our strategies are working," said Dr Kigwangala.

He said the sector expects 200,000 new tourists every year, adding that his office plans new strategy to introduce Tanzania tourism sector as 'Tanzania, the land of the unforgettable'.

The Minister added that the ministry and Tanzanian Ambassadors abroad are doing everything in their capacity to attract more tourists in the country.

Tanzania National Park (TANAPA) Public Relations Officer Paschal Shelutete insisted that the Australians' presence in the country was yet another confirmation that the tourism sector in the country was growing, thanks to ongoing efforts to advertise the country's various tourist attractions

.The visitors jetted into the country aboard the Qantas Boeing 747 plane, branded the 'Spirit of Australia,' which landed at Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA) over the weekend. Mr Shelutete said the landing of the rich tourists has marked a new history in the Tanzania tourism sector.

He said it was the first time Tanzania received a big number of tourists at once. According to Mr Shelutete the tourism business is now on low season and that receiving such a big number of tourists marks a new history in the country.

"We always receive 100 up to 120 tourists at once, this time around we have received over 250 tourists at once, this is history," he said. It was established that soon after disembarking from the large plane, the passengers did not waste time; they were driven into smaller aircrafts that flew directly into the 'endless plains' of Serengeti for the intended spectacular game viewing.

They apparently by-passed Arusha en-route to the country's famous national park. The tourists left Sidney Australia on April 22 and they have so far covered, Hanoi, in Vietnam; Delhi (India) for Taj-Mahal.

They are currently in Serengeti before departing tomorrow for Marrakech, Morocco. From Morocco, they will head to the United States and land in New York, then target Havana in Cuba before flying into the French Polynesia Island of Tahiti and afterwards complete their global touring in Sidney on May 12, 2018.

'Qantas,' which is the acronym for 'Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services,' is the flag carrier of Australia and so far the largest airline by fleet size, international flights and international destinations.

This was the first time, one of its aircrafts landed at KIA but on 'Constellation Private jetting.' 'Qantas,' is the third oldest airline in the world, after KLM and Avianca, having been founded in November 1920 before starting its international passenger flights in May 1935.