A Young Nation in Ancient Lands
By: Ralf Korbner, SITA World Tours
Our modern jetliner lifted off the runway and gently climbed into the African sky. To the left Dar es Salaam slowly disappeared in the pink evening light and soon we would cross Zanzibar on our return to Doha and Los Angeles.
During the prior week the northern part of Tanzania had been explored. The city of Arusha is arrival and departure point for many of us interested in Tanzania’s flora and fauna and impressive parks. We visited Manyara National Park, the famous Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. The Serena Lodges we spent nights in were impressive. The rooms and tent accommodation were beautifully decorated. Common areas are well presented, and breakfast and dinners left nothing to be desired. The usually young Tanzanian service personnel at our lodges were attentive, friendly, well trained and always helpful. My favorite lodge was the Serena Ngorongoro located on the rim of this ancient crater. Standing on the balcony of the room watching the night sky’s Milky Way impresses anyone living in light-polluted American metro areas. We explored the caldera below during the day. Many animals make it their home. Whether there or while driving through the Serengeti, animals are plentiful and often very close. A photographer’s dream.
Many animal species live inside the Ngorongoro dormant caldera
Yusuf, our driver not only crisscrossed the Serengeti safely with us but also looked after our wellbeing. His vehicle was new. At night he would somehow manage to clean it, inside and outside. While the public roads from Arusha to the parks were in excellent condition, driving inside the parks on unpaved tracks can occasionally feel rough. The vehicles handle these challenges well. The Serengeti presented us with gorgeous cloud formations and a couple of times with rain showers which gave the landscape a special atmosphere.
Not too far from Ngorongoro lies the Olduvai Gorge with its visitor center and museum, a gift by the European Union. The gorge represents one of the most important paleo-anthropological sites in the world. It is here that Louis Leakey found evidence relating to human evolution long before modern man. The view into the gorge is breathtaking and a studied young Tanzanian gave us a lecture taking us through the human development stages as currently understood.
This lecture at the Olduvai Gorge Museum together with our participation in a Catholic service in the town of Karatu caused me to look a bit deeper into Tanzania’s current statistics. But first: one of my travel companions had expressed interest in the church service. It was the last Sunday of the month, and it happened to be ‘children’s day’. The rather large Catholic church was filled. Many did not find seats inside the building and participated in the outside plaza in front of the church. Children were numerous, so many as I had not seen in a long time. We were the only white folks. Overwhelming friendliness and warm, open curiosity confronted us. When tithing time came, we moved to the middle, walked to the altar, deposited the donation into a small bucket, got a blessing with the sacrament from the priest and then moved back along the sides of the church facing row after row of children, many smiling and high fiving us. A delightful experience. An experience reflected in Tanzania’s population statistic.
As of 2020 42 percent of Tanzanians were under 14. With a total estimated population of 69 million, this translates to just under 29 million children under 14. If we have 330 million people in the USA, imagine our country with 138 million children under 14 years old.
Children require services, and that’s where tourism is poised to provide significant help.
The World Travel & Tourism Council assesses that Tanzania’s Tourism sector currently experiences significant growth. It made up 9.5 percent of the economy last year. Tourism employment climbed to I.4 million with just under 100,000 jobs added. Over the next 10 years strong growth projections indicate that almost one in 15 workers will find employment in the sector, a most welcome development for this highly desirable East African safari destination. And that growth will provide meaningful employment for many of the young Tanzanians soon coming of age.
Data from CIA Worldfactbook; UN Data; World Population Review; World Travel & Tourism Council
About Ralf Korbner – SITA World Tours
Growing up on a horse ranch in Germany with a younger brother, two cousins and lots of animals, travel was part of our annual family rhythm as long as I can remember. Summers were spent in Italy or Spain, winters in Austria for skiing and there were trips to the Baltic Sea or along the Rhine and Mosel with visits to castles and towns along those rivers. After graduating from high school on an island in the North Sea and while a university student in Germany, friends and I drove all over Europe during summer vacations. Those trips also included Turkey, Morocco and several of the countries then still behind the Iron Curtain. I became a member of the travel industry community after completing my studies at a California university. Visits to countries in Asia, Africa and travel in Australia and New Zealand have since broadened my geographic and cultural knowledge
About SITA World Tours
With 91 years of exemplary service in travel, SITA remains as the go-to tour operator for exotic destinations worldwide. Headquartered in Los Angeles, SITA is renowned for its highly experienced team of international specialists and is dedicated to travel excellence in every element of its programs. As a deluxe, luxury tour operator specializing in Packaged, Independent, Customized and Groups travel, SITA has become a key source for both the Consortium and Agent network nationwide. SITA’s well-planned tours focus on a destination’s culture, history and unique geography providing the greatest value to clients.
