Tanzania in $1.5m rebranding for global audience

Lazaro Nyalandu, Minister for Tourism

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania - The government has announced a $1.5 million tourism rebranding project to film and produce television commercials that will run on global networks like CNN and the BBC. 

Lazaro Nyalandu, Tanzania’s Natural Resources and Tourism Minister, recently said: “The Re-branding Destination Tanzania project is expected result in an increase in the number of tourists’ entering the country with a goal of attracting at least 2.5 million tourists per year in the next five years.”

He said, the US-based Pursuit Production is currently filming tourist attractions in Zanzibar, the Serengeti National Park, Mount Kilimanjaro and the Ngorongoro Crater, among others.

“I am optimistic that the advertisements would boost tourist arrivals,” he said. He went on to indicate that once filming has been completed, Tanzania President, Jakaya Kikwete will preview the advertisements before the scheduled launch next month.

The tourism sector currently represents nearly 3.4% of the total GDP of Tanzania and employs approximately 500,000 Tanzanians.

In 2013, a total of 1,135,884 tourists visited Tanzania, bringing earnings from the Tanzania tourism sector to an historical high of $1.8 billion. According to a recently released World Bank report, the country’s tourism industry could generate as much as $ 16 billion by 2025, which would lead to even more job creation and increased revenues over the next 10 years.