RTTZ Board Meeting

RTTZ has had it’s first board meeting.

Lidwien Appels, Richard Rugimbana & Julia Bishop

Speaking at the launch of Responsible Tourism  Tanzania(RTTZ) Trust,  on Wednesday night (6/6/2012) in Arusha , Hotels Association of Tanzania(HAT) CEO  Ms Lidwien Appels said the body would take a notch higher  the drive by  stakeholders  to champion and practise  more sustainable  tourism in our country.

The drive for sustainable tourism in Tanzania has received a big boost with the launch of a new body that seeks to bring out the best for Tanzanian tourism.

The new Trust representing the key stakeholders within the sector,  will encourage and promote a more mature and sustainable tourism industry, she said.

RTTZ will provide various services and functions to support the tourism industry to manage their business in a sustainable manner.

“These include providing internationally accepted standards and criteria, an auditing and evaluation process that will help guide the tourism venture to improving their organization and the services and products they offer accompanied with a  certification scheme that recognizes the company’s efforts and successes,” Appels said.

RTTZ will also be a key partner to develop the suitable regulatory environment by engaging in lobbying and advocacy on responsible tourism practices and favorable policies. The members will be provided with support and training to enable the tourism enterprises to understand and act according to the principles of sustainable tourism management. RTTZ will further support responsible tourism in Tanzania by promoting both the principles of RTTZ and the tourism products that are compliant to the international market.

Julia Bishop, Diederik Deboer, John Corse & Damian Bell

Damian Bell, the Executive Officer of Responsible Tourism Tanzania said “This is a very exciting moment now that we are finally registered as an official body. Years of work and networking by some key organizations and individuals  has finally paid off and we have an organization that can provide the international market with a product that they feel is important, it is what they want; Responsible Tourism in Tanzania”.

Sirili Akko from TATO & Franklin Alexander from MNRT

Responsible Tourism Tanzania board of trustees consist of members from both the public and private sector, the board is configured of 60% from the private sector, 20% public sector and 20% NGO’s.

The Honeyguide Foundation and Roundtable Africa each have 1 member to represent the NGO’s. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism (MNRT) and the Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB) each have 1 representative on behalf of the Public Sector. The Tourism Confederation Tanzania (TCT), the Tanzania Association of Tour Operators (TATO), the Zanzibar Association of Tourism Investors (ZATI) and the Hotels Association of Tanzania (HAT) together have 6 members on the Board to represent the Private Sector.