DAR ES SALAAM, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian authorities have renovated 2,000 kilometers of roads in 22 national parks as the country braced for an influx of tourists following the slackening of the COVID-19 pandemic, an official said on Sunday.
Francis Michael, the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, said the renovation of the roads was financed by funds released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in September 2021.
On Sept. 7, 2021, the IMF approved 567.25 million U.S. dollars in emergency financial assistance to support Tanzania's efforts in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic by addressing the urgent health, humanitarian, and economic costs.
In releasing the funds, the IMF said Tanzania's economic outlook had deteriorated due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Michael said apart from the renovation of the roads, the government has also rehabilitated eight airstrips in national parks and other protected areas in the East African nation.
He told tourism stakeholders, including tour operators and hoteliers that the tourism sector in Tanzania is recovering fast after it was impacted by the pandemic.
According to official statistics, 1.4 million tourists visited Tanzania in 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic that hugely affected the tourism industry.
Only 620,867 tourists visited the country in 2020, the year that the pandemic was first reported in Tanzania and across the world. ■