THE National Museum of Tanzania has since the first day of this year welcomed over 200 cruise ship tourists from Germany, France and the United States destined to various attractions in Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar.

Dr Aloyce Mwambwiga, Curator in Charge, told journalists yesterday that the cruise ship tourists visited the national museum to learn about the source of mankind. “Here we have relics that are over 200 years old, Tanzanian history, and ancient art. Cruise tourism is essential to achieving the goal of attracting eight million tourists by 2030,” said Dr Mwambwiga.

According to him, cruise ship tourism is a priority in the National Vision 2050, which aims to make the tourism sector contribute 25 percent of the national income come 2050. “National Vision 2050 requires government authorities to invest in streamlining cruise tourism to achieve the intended accomplishments,” he asserted.

Pauline Mkama, Head of Communication Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB) said that Dar es Salaam is blessed with diverse tourist attractions. "Many tourists say that what attracts them to visit Tanzania is the hospitality of Tanzanians. These tourists will head to Zanzibar for several days to experience the beauty of the islands of Pemba and Unguja," said Mkama.

She said that TTB has strategies to promote beach tourism, conferences tourism, culture tourism, and local food at the international level. She asserted that dedicated efforts in boosting the tourism sector has led to significant global recognition.

Last week President Samia Suluhu Hassan received three major international tourism awards won by Tanzania at the 2025 World Travel Awards. Of the three, the most prestigious award, World’s Leading Safari Destination, was conferred at the World Travel Awards Grand Finals 2025 convened in the Kingdom of Bahrain on the 6th of December, 2025.

The Serengeti National Park was named World’s Leading National Park in the year 2025, emerging ahead of internationally best-known protected areas such as Kruger National Park of South Africa and the United States’ Yellowstone National Park.

Cigdeu Schoeller, a Germany tourist to the National Museum in Dar es Salaam said that it was a great experience for her learning about Tanzania’s history and culture. Tanzania’s tourism sector enters 2026 on a formidable growth trajectory, backed by record visitor numbers, strong earnings, expanded infrastructure and renewed global interest. 

Having exceeded its 2025 target of 5 million tourists — welcoming an estimated 5.3 million visitors by April 2025 — the East African destination 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.

Industry analysts and government projections anticipate that tourism’s share of GDP could reach around 19.5–20 percent in the 2025/26 financial year, making it one of the fastest-growing segments of the economy.