UP to 150 tourists from the United States over the weekend traced the footsteps of President Samia Suluhu in the Serengeti, trekking up the Makoma Hill overlooking the vast plains.

Victor Ketansi, a senior official at the national park, said the tourists also had an open-air bush lunch on top of Beacon Hill, where the president took an iconic ‘Royal Tour’ footage back in 2021. 

Makoma is a hill where one can stand and get a view of the entire Serengeti plains below as it stands out in the park since Serengeti is mostly wide plains, he said, elaborating that the tourists who climbed the hill are among other visitors who of late have been taking sharp interest to scale the hill.

The Royal Tour documentary brought Makoma Hill to attention of travellers, even as it is a standalone attraction in the park. It is part of the crescent shaped hill-range which offers a spellbinding 360 degrees view of the National Park, the official noted. 

It can be scaled on foot or by car, he said, recalling that the president drove up there in an all-terrain vehicle when shooting the documentary, while the Serengeti saw an increase of nine percent in tourists flow during the past year,

The management also recorded a 14 percent increase in annual income, beefing up tourism earnings as the Serengeti accounts for 54 percent of the total revenue collected from the 21 national parks across the country, he explained.

The park attracted nearly 365,000 tourists in 2023, rising to 397,800 visitors last year, and by end of this year park managers expect to have recorded over 434,000 tourists, he said. 

John Simon, a tour guide who had just taken visitors into the park, said that during the high season more than 1000 vehicles pass through Naabi gate, alongside Fort Ikoma gate.

 Park managers are seeking investors to set up accommodation facilities especially to view the annual wildebeest migrations, even as the park spots six luxury lodges, 31 permanent tented camps, 31 makeshift camps and one hostel hosting 84 guest. There is a rest house accommodating 30 people, a force account venture, he said..

Chen Jianxing, a Chinese travel videographer promoting the Serengeti in China, says the park is easy to sell dud to its variety of wildlife that people in the Far East like to view.