EFFORTS to leverage cruise tourism in Tanzania have started to produce positive outcomes with the arrival of 539 tourists from Germany, France and the United States, who are in the country to engage with various cultural heritage and explore historical exhibits.

Shomari Shomari, the National Museum of Tanzania acting curator in charge, told journalists that the visitors, who arrived yesterday, toured the national museum premises and the Makumbusho cultural village, gaining insight into Tanzania’s history, art and traditions.  

He said that cruise tourism is a growing driver for the tourism sector, in line with Vision 2050 which sees tourism contributing 25 percent of national income at the end of that period.

 “At the museum we keep relics that are over 200 years old, Tanzania history and ancient art. Cruise ship tourism is essential to achieving the goal of attracting eight million tourists by 2030, with a view to making the tourism sector contribute 25 percent of the national income come 2050, he said.

Vision 2050 requires government authorities to invest in streamlining cruise tourism to achieve intended accomplishments, he said, pointing at diverse tourist attractions in the city of Dar es Salaam, with many tourists appreciating ,the hospitality they saw, intending to head to Zanzibar for several days to experience the beauty of the islands.

The museum has auxiliary strategies to promote beach tourism, conferences tourism, culture tourism and local food at the international level, he said, pointing at dedicated efforts in boosting the tourism sector, leading to significant global recognition.

Richard Grabowski, a 79 year old tourist from the US metropolis of New York, said that he enjoys wonderful moments in Dar es Salaam, having arrived with his wife to witness the beauty of the country’s tourist attractions and destinations.

 “My wife and I have travelled the world a lot but have found that the people of Tanzania are welcoming and nice. I suggest that every person coming to Africa should visit Tanzania,” he remarked.

Miriam McDavid, an 82 years old visitor from New Jersey, said that this is her first time in Tanzania and had learned a lot about mankind history at the National Museum. “I never knew that the original name of this country was Tanganyika and that Zanzibar was a different country, uniting in 1964.

“People around the world need to visit Tanzania, especially this museum and learn a lot about mankind history,” she said, affirming that she was interested in visiting other tourist destinations in the Mainland as the travelling group was slated to be on the Mainland for a couple of days.

Last month President Samia Suluhu Hassan received three major international tourism awards the country won at the 2025 World Travel Awards in the Gulf Zone.

The world’s leading safari destination, the most prestigious, was conferred at the event’s grand finals for 2025 in Bahrain late December 2025, where the Serengeti National Park was named world’s leading national park ahead of internationally best-known protected areas such as Kruger National Park of South Africa and the United States’ Yellowstone National Park.

Experts said that the organisers have during the past decade removed some traditional top attractions like the Egyptian pyramids or the Great Wall of China, among others, as the travelling public around the world is already saturated with information on those attractions.

Having exceeded its 2025 target of 5m tourists, welcoming an estimated 5.3m visitors by April 2025, Tanzania is poised to build on this momentum next year as it seeks to deepen its footprint in key international markets and modernise its tourism ecosystem, observers noted.

The Tanzania Investment and Consulting Group Ltd (TICGL) projects that tourism’s share of GDP could reach around 19.5 percent in the 2025/26 financial year, making it one of the fastest-growing segments of the economy, analysts noted.