The International Council of Tourism Partners (ICTP) has announced that Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA) has joined it as a destination member.
Tanzania National Parks, which is claimed to play a significant role in integrating sustainable conservation with high-class tourism products and services, is expecting the move to enhance its activities and influence its conservation efforts in a positive manner. The organisation has 15 national parks in its portfolio, and many of them form the core of a much larger protected ecosystem.
The existing park systems protect a number of internationally recognised biodiversity and World Heritage sites. The park is also working to expand the scope of the national park and raise the status of traditional migration corridors connecting protected areas. Tanzania has more than 46,348.9 square kilometres of national parks, and tourism provides a significant encouragement for the nation to support conservation efforts.
ICTP president, professor Geoffrey Lipman said, ‘The engagement of TANAPA is another important milestone. Tanzania has a proud reputation for conservation and heritage. The Serengeti is the home of one of the greatest animal migrations on the planet, and Mount Kilimanjaro – Africa’s highest mountain – is a global icon for adventure travel. Members like this add immensely to the collective knowledge and resource base of ICTP – we welcome TANAPA’s commitment to work with us to promote quality green growth.’
The chairman of ICTP, Juergen T. Steinmetz, said, ‘We firmly believe in the work TANAPA is doing and the fact that this organisation has resisted the temptation to cash in on the short-term gains of mass tourism. Instead, it is committed to low impact, sustainable visitation to protect the environment from irreversible damage, while creating a first-class ecotourism destination. This fits in perfectly with the mission of ICTP to promote quality green tourism growth.’
