At least four hundred exhibitors and visitors from different countries across the world have gathered at the Karibu Killifair in Arusha, Tanzania from June 3-5, 2022.
The International tourism & industry fair is promoting and presenting companies based in the Kilimanjaro region, Tanzania, Kenya, East Africa, and Central Africa by providing a platform for both SMEs and big companies to network.
Being the first after a 2-year hiatus due to COVID-19 restrictions, Dominic Shoo, Director, Killifair Co. Ltd, expressed gratitude to the Tanzania Ministry of Tourism, exhibitors, buyers, and participants for supporting the event after a long stay due to covid-19.
In his welcome address, Dominic Shoo further called on the Tanzanian government to continue to invest in the fair as part of efforts to market the country.
“Karibu Killifair is a big investment which has a multiplying effect not only on the economy of Arusha but on the whole country of Tanzania and East Africa at large. We ask the ministry to continue supporting us financially so we can continue to Market Tanzania and make Karibu Killifair the best platform for business networking worldwide. We and the world to come to Tanzania and become the Karibu Killifair of Tanzania. We also that you continue supporting familiarization tours as the number of participants continues to grow and to make sure travel agents visiting this fair become the best ambassadors of our attractions in Tanzania. This way we will meet our target of 5 million tourists per year”.
Hon. Christopher Bazivamo, Deputy Secretary-General, East Africa Community(EAC) said “it is a great joy to meet here after two years of gloom, loses of businesses, and suffering because when covid -19 hits the most affected industry was tourism”.
He stressed that the EAC’s main interest is to ensure that East Africa is marketed as one destination to benefit the region at at-large.
” We are at the point of bringing in South Sudan and they are here today as well, the next block is the Republic of Congo to ensure that we have a higher piece of the bar to share within the region. Conservation cannot be done in one country, it must be done across the region and must share the same standard within that region”.
This year’s event has over 500 exhibitors from 15 different countries, over 600 international Buyers from 45 countries, over 8000 trade Visitors, 35.000 sqm Exhibition area, B2B Events, seminars, appointments, Entertainment, and Fashion Shows.
Delivering his keynote speech at the opening ceremony, Hon. Mashimba Ndaki, Minister of Livestock and Fisheries said “Tanzania is adorned with many tourist attractions which appeal a significant number of tourists from many countries of the world. It goes without saying that through this kind of event, the tourism industry will quickly recover from the impact of COVID-19”.
He explained that due to COVID-19, the number of international tourists to Tanzania decreased by 59% and revenue generated from tourist activities decreased by 72%. In response to this, the Tanzanian Government has taken several steps towards recovery including enhancement of destination marketing through different platforms within and outside the country. In view of that, Karibu Killifair came at the right time and is aligned to the government effort towards the development of the tourism industry in Tanzania. As a government, we will continue supporting this fair financially and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism will make sure that it is fully engaged”.
The exhibitors and visitors will have the opportunity to visit some of Tanzania’s tourism hotspots and other social activities lined up for the fair.
This year’s edition of the fair is supported by the Ministry of Natural resources & Tourism, GIZ, Tanzania Association of Tour Operators, NMB Bank, Ethiopian Airlines, Air Tanzania, Coca Cola, DPO Group, Voyages Afriq and several other entities.
