Tanzania to launch direct flight connectivity with India

Government of Tanzania is planning to launch direct flight service thrice a week connecting India and Tanzania starting December 2018. “This will improve tourism, people-to-people connectivity and bilateral trade. I am here to strengthen the centuries old historical, cultural and linguistic relations between India and Tanzania,” said Mahmoud Kombo, Minister for Information, Culture & Tourism, Government of Zanzibar, Tanzania.

“Gujaratis and Goans are the first settlers in the history of eastern Africa 1,000 years ago. The present day Indian community in Tanzania represents the 17th generation. The first newspaper in Zanzibar island of Tanzania was in Gujarati language. Today, 4,000 Indian tourists visit Tanzania every year, which is far less compared to more than 2 lakh tourists from Italy and other European countries. I expect annual number of Indian tourists visiting Tanzania to grow to 20,000 in the next five years,” he said. The minister was speaking at an interactive meeting organized by MVIRDC World Trade Centre Mumbai and All India Association of Industries (AIAI).

Kombo highlighted five key areas – tourism, hospitality, healthcare, food processing and packaging- for collaboration between both the countries. The minister assured Indian investors on single window clearance, ease of land acquisition and other business support and incentives for investing in that country.

The Government of Tanzania is privatizing certain sectors such as water supply and other utilities, airport ground handling and other services. The Government of Zanzibar is promoting investment in recycling of plastic waste as it damages the marine ecology, including dolphins and other marine fauna, the minister said.

Speaking about the tourist attractions in Zanzibar, the minister pointed to spice tour, dolphin games, stone town heritage, sunset cruise and red colobus monkeys. He suggested India’s film industry to explore Tanzania as shooting destination and assured them of all possible government support in this regard.