FIRST PAN-AFRICAN CONFERENCE ON SUSTAINABLE TOURISM IN AFRICA NATIONAL PARKS AND PROTECTED AREAS TO BE HELD IN ARUSHA THIS OCTOBER.

At the gracious invitation of the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania, the World Tourism Organization is organizing the First Pan-African Conference on Sustainable Tourism Management in National Parks and Protected Areas: Challenges and Opportunities in Arusha from 15 to 18 October 2012. The Conference is being organized in collaboration with the Tanzanian Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism.

Nature-based tourism or eco-tourism is a large and growing global industry, partially dependent upon the attributes of the natural environment and biodiversity wildlife and scenery which represent one of Africa’s strategic competitive advantages as a destination.

The conference aims to encourage professional approach to better position “park tourism” as one of the core components of overall national park management in Africa and to acquire an overview of the current challenges in terms of demand and supply chain. Furthermore new partnerships and business models shall impulse re-engineering of park management structures in order to maximize the economics and social benefits to the local communities.

The town of Arusha, Tanzania is the country’s safari capital located in the north of the country. It has a population of 427,185 (2005 est.). This city is located on a plateau in the Great Rift Valley amidst the Serengeti plains, Ngorongoro Crater, Lake Manyara, Tarangire National Park, and Mount Kilimanjaro.