Tanzania opens its southern highlands to beekeeping tourists

Tanzania’s forest watchdog introduced beekeeping tourism on Monday to introduce visitors to the production of honey in Kalambo district, which is located in the Rukwa region in the southern highlands.

A senior official with the state-run Tanzania Forest Services Agency (TFS), Daniel Dotto, stated that in order to promote beekeeping tourism, the government has set up a farm and given out 500 bee hives at Kalambo.

“A tourist would be exposed to beekeeping activities, including honey production, in the farm where one would also learn the ecology of beekeeping,” Dotto stated.

According to TFS Chief Conservation Officer Ibrahim Mkiwa, the introduction of beekeeping tourism is a component of the government’s attempts to promote its many tourist attractions.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism reports that tourism accounts for 17.2 percent of Tanzania’s GDP and 29 percent of Zanzibar’s GDP.

A quarter of the nation’s foreign exchange revenues come from this industry, which also generates 1.5 million direct and indirect employment.