Tanzania is continuing to use the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament as an opportunity to promote the country internationally through the Destination Tanzania campaign, which has brought journalists and content creators from various countries to experience the country’s tourism attractions, culture and preparations for the tournament.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, Dr Hassan Abbas, said this in Dar es Salaam while welcoming journalists and content creators from the United States, Canada, South Africa, France and the United Kingdom.
He said the seven-day visit was aimed at enabling the visitors to tour various tourism attractions and witness preparations for AFCON, allowing them to use their platforms to promote Tanzania to international markets.
“Through this visit, Tanzania seeks to leverage the influence of these journalists and content creators to communicate messages about tourism, sports, culture and other opportunities available in the country to a wider audience outside Tanzania,” Dr Abbas said.
During his interaction with the visitors, Dr Abbas invited them to return to Tanzania to witness and promote the AFCON tournament, as well as experience Tanzania as one of the host countries.
For his part, John Jackson, a Tanzanian who was involved in inviting the visitors to the country, said the visit was intended to give them an opportunity to experience Tanzania first-hand and gain direct experiences that would enable them to produce engaging content for their audiences.
“During the seven-day visit, these visitors will tour various tourism destinations, including Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro, Mount Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar, while also getting an opportunity to see the country’s sports infrastructure,” Jackson said.
Meanwhile, Acting Director of the Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB), Dr Theresa Mugobi, said the Destination Tanzania campaign aims to increase awareness of the various tourism attractions and opportunities available in the country.
She said the involvement of journalists and content creators in promoting Tanzania could help disseminate tourism messages to different markets through the media and social media platforms.
The visitors include Sara Poraria from Canada, Karina Bermudez from the United States, Geneefah Lee from South Africa, Alizee Morat from France, and Adam Britton and Cameroon James from the United Kingdom.