Tanzania has revealed plans of opening up its country to start receiving tourists.
The move, according to the country’s Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, was taken after meetings between the Ministry and stakeholders in the country’s tourism sector.
With over 509 cases and 21 deaths, as of Monday, May 18, Tanzania is one of the fewer hit countries when it comes to the coronavirus pandemic.
As countries are beginning to open up gradually, the East African nation believes that the time is right for it to start receiving tourists.
This will, however, be done with caution, Dr. Hamisi A. Kigwangalla, Tanzania’s Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, said in a statement.
Countries globally have had to close their borders to foreigners to stop the importation of the deadly virus.
This has had a devastating toll on tourism, considering the fact that the sector relies heavily on the inflow of foreigners.
“The results of these measures are that we do not currently receive foreign tourists at all. This is a huge loss for the country’s economy. Tourism companies also suffer huge losses. We have lost many jobs due to this pandemic,” Dr. Kigwangalla said in a statement.
He explained that after “a meeting between the Ministry and the representatives of tourism associations held in Arusha, it was agreed on steps that the Government and the Private Sector will take to convince tourists to start coming again to Tanzania”.
The Minister explained that the country will put in place a system to ensure that tourists do not import Covid-19 into the country.
“First, and foremost, we will take steps to ensure that tourists entering the country do not bring Coronavirus to the country. Airlines will be responsible for making sure that all passengers are screened for Coronavirus, and those found with the virus will not be allowed to travel. We will only allow tourists to enter the country once we find evidence that those tourists are not infected with COVID-19.”
Source: 3news.com|Ghana