The new documentary, Royal Tour, Tanzania which was launched in the United States in April this year and shown in Tanzania is now the talk of the town.
Among other scenes, the one-hour film, depicts the participation of President Samia Suluhu Hassan and the Isles President, Dr. Hussein Ali Mwinyi showcasing tourist attractions.
The film shows President Samia, the Tanzanian first women President, engaged in candid discussion with the award-winning American investigative reporter and producer Peter Greenberg-who produced the documentary which features heads of state giving personal views of their countries.
President Samia along with Greenberg visit Tanzania’s key tourist attractions including the Kilimanjaro Mountain in the northern part of the country and the underground Vumawimbi water room in the Pemba North Region.
In one of the scenes, President Samia is seen leading Greenberg in the narrow streets of the Stone Town, the World Heritage Site before the duo head to Kizimkazi, the home village of President Samia and see the house where she was born. They then visit the village school and interact with students.
At one point Greenberg asks what would happen if he got lost in the narrow streets of the Stone Town, and President Samia gives a joke saying getting lost here is just part of the experience.
The film was launched on April 21 on Public Broadcasting Service in the US and screened in Chicago and New York. It was then screened in Arusha, Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam.
“It is not so often that we see President Samia relaxed as she was in the documentary,” said Ramadhani Massoud, who watched the documentary through social media.
“The documentary showcases the peace and stability that Tanzania enjoys as well as its conservation efforts, which should boost the country’s image. It will appeal to the type of tourists the country is targeting, especially the high class tourists,” he said.
“A friend who lives in the US sent me a long e-mail after watching the documentary, saying the film will have a great impact on the tourism sector,” he added.
Tour operators are optimistic that the film will promote the country’s tourism industry placing it as one of the world’s key destinations for high class tourism.
Indeed, for many, the ease with which the President took Greenberg, who is known as “The Travel Detective,” around the country, could be seen important for the country’s tourism sector.
Tanzania has been trying to showcase new tourist attractions in addition to popular Kilimanjaro Mountain and the Zanzibar Stone Town. These include underground Vumawimbi water room which stretches along the shores of the Indian Ocean, cultural tourism and the Big Five in Serengeti National Park.
Tanzania is strategically located in the East African Community neighbours of Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and Burundi.
The documentary offers the country wide publicity and will demystify perceptions such as Stone Town being the only tourist attraction.
The documentary continues to be screened in the US with plans to show it in Europe and beyond and is expected to be watched by one million people and the future prospect is to be watched by one billion people over a year.
In a sit-down interview with Greenberg at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, President Samia talked about Tanzania’s tourism and conservation efforts.
She said the government is not only looking at increasing the number of tourists but also making sure that the revenues generated reach the people.
Tanzania has seen exponential growth in its tourism revenues, doubling its earnings from $724 million in 2020 to $1.2billion in 2021.
The documentary is expected to revive the tourism industry affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Before the Covid-19, the tourism industry had employed 4.5 million people but that number dropped by 27 percent with over 400,000 people losing their jobs.
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