01/08/09, 12:05:04 UTC

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Tanzania plans more tourist hotels and lodges inside the biggest wildlife park

travelvideo.tv

Winding up the controversy over whether to establish more tourist hotels and lodges or not in Tanzania's leading tourist game park, Tanzanian prime minister has put off conservationists outcry over the need for more tourist accommodation facilities in Serengeti National Park.

The prime minister said Tanzania needs more tourist incomes through competitive business environment, rather than looking at personal vested interests under the cover of nature conservation.



DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania (eTN) - More five-star lodges are planned inside Tanzania’s biggest and most tourist attractive Serengeti National Park aimed at raising the number of beds currently available to accommodate international class tourists.

Tanzanian Prime Minister Edward Lowassa said his government is currently encouraging, supporting and attracting investors to establish more hotels in the 14,763 square kilometer park, boasting of over three million big mammals roaming inside its wide plains.

Serengeti national park is home to over 1.5 million wildebeests alone, roaming the park’s ecosystem and attracting most tourists during their annual migration from one side to the other side of the park.

Lowassa is the head of Tanzania government business and leader of the cabinet. He responded to claims from vested environmental conservation groups looking to oppose development of more lodges and hotels inside the park.

He said Tanzania needs more tourist rooms in the park, at least to match up with its Kenyan side of Maasai Mara which boasts of about 4,700 rooms compared to merely 940 room available there. Maasai Mara is part of the Serengeti ecosystem with 3,000 sq. km. in size.

Tanzania’s plan rests on bringing up at least 4,500 rooms inside the park by the year 2012, thus providing adequate accommodation services to visitors flocking the park.

Currently the entire park’s ecosystem accommodates only four lodges each with 60-pus to 75 rooms while the rest visitor facilities are tented and mobile camps with less than 20 rooms each. Operating lodges of international class are the Serena Serengeti Lodge, Sopa Serengeti Lodge, Seronera Safari Lodge and Lobo Safari Lodge.

Serengeti is the biggest park in Tanzania pulling over 100,000 tourists per year – mostly high spending class, including outbound US and Europeans travelers.

US-registered company Grumeti Reserves limited is developing tourist facilities in Serengeti including community-based wildlife conservation projects.

 Printable Version  | published Jul 05, 2007