Geographic Description

Tanzania is located on the eastern coast of Africa, bordered to the northeast by Kenya, to the northwest by Rwanda and Burundi, to the west by Lake Tanganyika (opposite of the DRC), the southwest by Zambia and Malawi and to the south by Mozambique.  The country’s geography is highly diverse and is home to Africa’s tallest mountain, Mount Kilimanjaro, and Africa’s largest lake, Lake Victoria, which is the source of the Nile River.

Tourism Policy Environment

The tourism sector is guided by the Tourism Policy (Government of Tanzania, 1999), which was developed to ensure sustainable tourism development. The first Tourism Policy was developed in 1991, but this was revised to account for changes in the global tourism environment and to account for the principles of sustainable development articulated in the 1992 Rio Declaration of Environment and Development (Government of Tanzania, 1999). The Tourism Policy as of 1999 prioritises a quadruple bottom-line of economic, social, environmental and cultural sustainability. It also establishes specific strategies for marketing, eco- and cultural tourism, domestic tourism and human resource development, including a focus on promoting opportunities for women.

Certification / Award Programmes

Tanzania is home to one of five greenstop.net accredited products in SADC (refer to Box 6). Beginning in 2008, Tanzanian tourism enterprises have also been eligible to apply for Eco Tourism Kenya’s rating scheme.  As of the date of this report, four Tanzanian products have become Eco Tourism Kenya rated.

TFCAs

Tanzania is party to three TFCAs, namely the Niassa – Selous (with Mozambique and Tanzania), the Mnazi Bay – Quirimbas (with Mozambique and Tanzania) and the Kagera (with Rwanda).