Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism Prof Jumanne Maghembe has ordered better pay and employment contracts for all tour guides and porters operating in the northern tourist curcuit.
He directed Tanzania National Parks Authority (TANAPA) Director
General Allan Kijazi and Kilimanjaro National Park (KINAPA) Chief Park
Warden Betrita Loiboki to ensure the employees were also given
appropriate mountain climbing gear.
The minister was speaking with tourism stakeholders in the region
where he expressed his concerns over challenges being faced by Mt.
Kilimanjaro tour guides and porters including overloading of tourists’
luggage.
He said the government had not yet allowed foreign companies to
operate in the country and yet there were complaints from tourists in
the region about poor services compared to the amount of money they pay
to tour companies.
“Tour operators need to make sure they provide quality services to
tourists as well as tour guides and porters according to government
agreed rates,” he said.
He said $20 should be paid to mountain guides, $15 to chefs and $10 to porters per day.
The minister also raised concern about increased fatalities of
porters due to lack of proper mountain climbing gear, saying it was the
duty of tour operators to protect employees, adding that this should be
implemented no later than March 1.
According to him, tourists climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro had declined to
45,000 from 50,000 due poor marketing of the mountain overseas.
“The government will soon start placing adverts on Mt Kilimanjaro in US, UK and German television channels” he said.
TANAPA’s Director General Allan Kijazi commended tour operators in
Kilimanjaro and Arusha for establishing Tanzania Porters Organization
(TPO) with nearly 3,000 members, saying it would help them to be heard,
both by the government and the private sector.
“The porters association will act as a channel to express their
concerns, innovative ideas to sustain tourism in the region” he said.
The director general said Tanapa will soon hold a meeting with
tourism stakeholders to address some of the challenges affecting
employees in the sector.
TPO representative James Mwangateko said a porters organization
came about after discovering they were lowly paid for their daily work.
According to him, only 40 percent of tourists attempting to climb
the mountain top reach Uhuru Peak at some 5,895 meters above sea level
annually of the 15,000 tourists.
According to him, various tour guides pay between Sh5,000 and
Sh15,000 to tour guides per day, with the porters’ fee ranging between
Sh2,500 and Sh10,000, which was not enough compared to their tasks.
SOURCE:
THE GUARDIAN
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