MONDAY October 16, 2023
By Adam Ihucha
The Tranquility News Correspondent, Tanzania
Tanzania’s flagship national park, Serengeti, has maintained its crown as the Africa’s most iconic park for the fifth time in a row in the prestigious World Travel Awards (WTA).
“Africa’s leading national park of the year 2023 goes to the Serengeti National Park,” announced the WTA at the red-carpet gala ceremony held at Atlantis, The Royal Dubai hotel, in the UAE over the weekend.
Senior Assistant Conservation Commissioner for Western Zone Izumbe Msindai was in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), on October 15, 2023, to receive the ultimate prize.
The organisers of the high-profile WTA said: “Congratulations to Serengeti National Park for maintaining her well-earned crown for five years consecutively.”
Indeed, Serengeti earned a high-profile accolade amidst the cutthroat competition brought by Central Kalahari Game Reserve of Botswana, Etosha National Park of Namibia, Kidepo Valley National Park of Uganda, Kruger National Park of South Africa, Mapoja and Masai Mara National Reserve of Kenya.
WTA official records show Serengeti has won this particular award for the fifth time in a row, starting in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and now 2023.
Acting Conservation Commissioner for the Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA) Juma Kuji said the ultimate World annual prize is an apt complement for painstaking efforts of the country’s President, Dr Samia Suluhu Hassan, to promote the nation as the World’s top tourism destination.
“We at TANAPA have received this achievement with pride, we know this award will go a long way in complementing the President’s bid to promote Tanzania as the World’s best tourism destination,” Acting Conservation Commissioner Kuji said.
The TANAPA Chief expressed his earnest gratitude to all who voted for and made Serengeti National Park’s victory possible, saying without their unwavering support, the park would not have earned the feat.
“Together, we celebrate Serengeti’s stunning five-time victory at the World Tourism Awards,” said the TANAPA Chief Kuji who rose to the rank a fortnight ago.
Serengeti National Park is undoubtedly the best-known wildlife paradise in the world, unequalled for its natural beauty and scientific value, it has the greatest concentration of plains game in Africa.
Host members of the Maasai pastoralist community believe the land moves on forever on the plains of Serengeti National Park.
While in the park, you can witness the famous Serengeti annual migration, the largest and longest overland migration on earth.
From the sprawling Serengeti plains in Tanzania to the champagne coloured hills of Kenya’s Maasai Mara Game Reserve, over two million wildebeests and half a million zebras as well as gazelle, relentlessly tracked by Africa’s great predators, migrate in a clockwise manner over 1,800 miles each year in search for rain-ripened grassΩ
