TANZANIA: THE variety of Chinese vacationers visiting Tanzania within the first 9 months of this 12 months has exceeded final 12 months’s whole by greater than 20 per cent, pushed largely by the success of the Amazing Tanzania movie.

From January to September, 54,446 Chinese vacationers visited Tanzania, in comparison with 44,438 in all of final 12 months.

This outstanding enhance is credited to numerous promotional efforts, together with The Royal Tour and the Amazing Tanzania movie, which premiered in Beijing in May and is about to debut in Dar es Salaam at the moment.

The movie goals to strengthen diplomatic ties and enhance tourism between Tanzania and China.

During a media briefing, Dr Hassan Abbas, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, defined that launching the movie in China first was a strategic choice.

“China has a vast number of outbound travellers each year and we saw this as an opportunity to promote our country and invite them to experience Tanzania firsthand,” Dr Abbas stated.

The movie options President Samia Suluhu Hassan, Zanzibar’s President Hussein Ali Mwinyi and a widely known Chinese artist, showcasing Tanzania’s distinctive sights.

Today’s launch occasion will function Tanzania’s Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism because the visitor of honour, together with China’s Deputy Minister for Tourism and Culture.

Dr Abbas highlighted that Tanzania’s focused efforts to draw Chinese vacationers embody roadshows and complete advertising and marketing methods in worldwide markets.

In 2018, Tanzania welcomed 32,000 vacationers from China, a quantity that rose to 44,438 final 12 months after COVID-19 journey restrictions eased.

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Mr Methusela Ntonda, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Arts, and Sports, famous that the longstanding relationship between Tanzania and China has fostered cultural exchanges, financial cooperation and mutual assist.

He added that this bond was initially established by the friendship between Chairman Mao Zedong and Tanzania’s founding chief, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere.

“These two visionary leaders planted the seeds of friendship in the hearts of Tanzanians and Chinese people, leading to significant diplomatic achievements over the years,” Mr Ntonda stated.

Over the many years, this partnership has facilitated quite a few alternatives, together with cultural trade programmes, coaching {and professional} improvement for Tanzanians. For instance, from 2014 to 2016, Tanzanian cultural officers studied Chinese language, literature and tradition.

As Tanzania and China rejoice 60 years of friendship, Mr Ntonda burdened the significance of constructing on previous successes.

Looking forward, the 2 nations plan to collaborate on digital preservation of cultural heritage, host worldwide cultural festivals and broaden academic alternatives.

The partnership may even promote Swahili and Mandarin language studying to reinforce communication, foster expertise-sharing in cultural initiatives and encourage creativity and innovation for sustainable improvement.