Promotion of National Parks for Domestic Tourism in Tanzania

Abstract

This paper aims to analyze promotion of national parks for domestic tourism in Tanzania. The specific objective was to analyze how TV programs on national parks can be improved for domestic tourists. Study area is in Southern National Parks of Tanzania namely Mikumi, Udzungwa, Ruaha and Kitulo. Qualitative method using open ended questionnaires was used to collect data from domestic tourists in February 2015. Content analysis with a thematic approach was deployed. Findings indicate that TV programs on national parks do well on information related to wildlife. However, there were opinions that there is inadequate information on accommodation, equipment and experiences shared by other domestic tourists who visited the national parks. Further results showed that TV programs should be aired more frequently to benefit domestic tourists. The outcome of this paper can assist policy and decision makers in the tourism sector to improve information on TV programs about national parks in order to boost domestic tourism and advance promotion of southern national parks. Establishing TV channels dedicated to tourism including for purposes of promoting national parks was one of the recommendations of this paper. Future research can explore the influence of celebrities on visits to national parks.