DAR ES SALAAM: WHEN Kenya hosts the World Athletics Championships in Nairobi in 2029, it will mark a historic moment for African sport and create an opportunity that extends beyond the host country.
After decades of the championships being staged elsewhere, bringing the event to East Africa will place the region before a global audience of athletes, officials, coaches, journalists, sponsors, supporters and business travellers.
For Tanzania, this presents a valuable opportunity to benefit from Kenya’s international sporting spotlight without hosting the event itself.
The question is not simply whether Tanzania can attract visitors from Kenya, but whether it can strategically position itself as a complementary destination within a wider East African sports and tourism market.
Kenya’s selection to host the championships offers the region an opportunity to showcase its rich athletics heritage, diverse cultures and outstanding tourism attractions.
For Kenya, the event reinforces its international reputation for excellence in middle- and long-distance running.
For Tanzania, the priority should be to convert that global attention into increased tourist arrivals, longer stays, higher visitor spending, stronger air connectivity, crossborder travel and new privatesector investment. The economic benefits of major sporting events extend far beyond stadiums.
They generate demand for accommodation, restaurants, transport, entertainment, shopping, telecommunications, financial services and travel-related businesses. With careful planning, Tanzania can position its tourism industry to capture part of this demand.
The country already boasts internationally recognised attractions, including the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Mount Kilimanjaro, Zanzibar and Nyerere National Park.
These destinations offer compelling reasons for visitors travelling to Nairobi for the championships to extend their journeys into Tanzania.
Imagine a visitor attending the championships in Nairobi before travelling to Arusha, exploring the Serengeti, experiencing the landscapes around Kilimanjaro or relaxing on Zanzibar’s beaches.
Such an itinerary could turn a sporting trip into a broader East African holiday.
Rather than viewing Kenya as a competitor for international tourists, Tanzania should regard the championships as a regional demand generator and position itself to benefit from the increased flow of visitors to East Africa.
This calls for a shift in tourism strategy. The objective should not be limited to attracting Kenyan visitors to Tanzania.
Instead, the country should help develop an integrated East African tourism circuit in which the championships serve as an entry point and Tanzania becomes an essential part of visitors’ wider travel plans.
Start marketing well before 2029
Tanzania cannot afford to wait until the championships begin before promoting its tourism attractions. International travellers attending major sporting events often plan their journeys months or even years in advance.
Early preparation will therefore be critical to ensuring that Tanzania features in their itineraries.
The Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB), working with tour operators, airlines, hotels and destination management companies, could develop coordinated campaigns under a theme such as “Come for Athletics, Stay for Tanzania.”
The campaigns should target not only athletes and spectators but also their families, coaches, journalists, sponsors, corporate executives and other visitors accompanying the event.
Digital marketing should be central to this effort. Targeted social media campaigns, online travel platforms and partnerships with international travel companies could promote safari packages, Zanzibar holidays, Kilimanjaro experiences and cultural tourism to people researching travel to Kenya for the championships.
The objective is to convert interest in the sporting event into interest in Tanzania as a destination. Build integrated Kenya– Tanzania tourism packages One of the most promising opportunities lies in developing cross-border tourism packages that combine the championships in Nairobi with Tanzania’s leading attractions.
Travel companies could offer itineraries that include athletics events in Nairobi, followed by visits to Arusha, the northern safari circuit, Mount Kilimanjaro, the Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Zanzibar.
Depending on visitors’ interests, the packages could also incorporate cultural experiences, coastal activities and marine tourism.
Promoting these itineraries as a unified East African experience would make it easier for international travellers to combine sporting, wildlife and beach holidays within a single trip. Such packages could also increase the length of visitors’ stays and spread tourism spending across several destinations.
This would allow Tanzania to benefit from economic activity generated by an event hosted in a neighbouring country. For this strategy to succeed, however, travel arrangements must be convenient, competitively priced and easy to book.
Tourism operators should coordinate transport, accommodation, park visits and flights to provide seamless experiences for international visitors.
Make cross-border travel easier
Marketing alone will not be enough. Complicated immigration procedures, unreliable transport connections, expensive flights and lengthy border delays could discourage visitors from extending their journeys into Tanzania. Kenya and Tanzania should therefore strengthen cooperation on cross-border tourism well ahead of 2029.
This would require coordination among immigration authorities, tourism agencies, airlines, border officials and private transport providers.
The Arusha–Nairobi corridor is particularly important because it connects Kenya’s capital with Tanzania’s northern tourism circuit.
Improving road and air connections along this corridor could make it easier for visitors attending the championships to reach Arusha and continue to the Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Kilimanjaro. Aviation connectivity will be equally important.
Tanzania should work with airlines to assess opportunities for increasing flight frequencies and introducing commercially viable services linking Nairobi with key destinations such as Kilimanjaro International Airport, Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar.
Kilimanjaro International Airport is especially well positioned to serve travellers combining the championships with northern Tanzania’s safari attractions.
Zanzibar, meanwhile, could appeal to visitors seeking a beach holiday after the sporting event. The priority should be to minimise unnecessary layovers, reduce travel friction and make multi-country itineraries as straightforward as possible.
Turn athletics into a tourism product
Perhaps the most strategic opportunity is to use athletics itself as part of Tanzania’s tourism offering. Kenya’s success in international athletics demonstrates how sporting excellence can shape national identity and attract global attention.
Tanzania can build on the wider regional interest in athletics by developing its own sports tourism products, including training camps, road races, mountain running events, adventure activities and sports conferences.
Mount Kilimanjaro and its surrounding landscapes, for example, could provide a setting for international endurance and adventure events that attract athletes, recreational runners and spectators.
Tanzania could also explore establishing an annual international athletics competition or marathon that complements the regional sporting calendar.
Such an initiative would create recurring opportunities to attract visitors rather than relying solely on the temporary boost associated with the 2029 championships.
Developing sports tourism would also help diversify Tanzania’s tourism portfolio, encourage repeat visits and strengthen the links between sport, hospitality and adventure travel.
Prepare tourism businesses to capture the benefits
The benefits of increased visitor arrivals should extend beyond large hotels and established tour operators. Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), restaurants, transport providers, handicraft producers, guides and other local businesses must also be prepared to participate.
The government, financial institutions and development partners could support tourism SMEs through targeted financing, training and business-development programmes.
These could help businesses upgrade accommodation, improve vehicles, strengthen digital booking systems, enhance restaurant services and develop new tourism experiences.
Tourism businesses should also be encouraged to adopt digital payment systems, improve customer service and establish partnerships with international travel agents.
For development finance institutions and commercial banks, the championships present an opportunity to view sports-related tourism as part of a wider investment chain encompassing transport, accommodation, food supply, entertainment and local manufacturing.
With appropriate support, the economic gains could reach thousands of smaller enterprises and create employment across the tourism value chain.
Target high-value visitors
Tanzania should focus not only on attracting more visitors but also on increasing the economic value generated by each trip.
The championships are likely to attract a diverse audience, including sponsors, corporate executives, international media, sports officials and affluent spectators.
Some of these visitors may be interested in premium experiences combining sporting hospitality in Kenya with luxury safaris, exclusive cultural activities and beach holidays in Zanzibar.
Tanzania should therefore develop products tailored to different visitor segments, from luxury travellers seeking personalised experiences to families and independent travellers looking for affordable multi-country packages. The emphasis should be on value rather than visitor numbers alone.
Longer stays, higher spending, repeat visits and stronger links with local suppliers can help maximise the economic contribution of tourism.
At the same time, premium tourism should complement rather than replace efforts to develop accessible products for a broader range of international visitors. Use the championships to promote business tourism The event could also create opportunities beyond leisure travel.
Companies sponsoring athletics may send executives and clients to East Africa, while media organisations establish temporary operations and sports federations and international organisations hold meetings around the championships.
Tanzania could position Dar es Salaam, Arusha and Zanzibar as complementary destinations for pre- and postchampionship conferences, corporate retreats, business meetings and networking events.
This approach would connect sports tourism with the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) sector, which can generate spending on accommodation, venues, transport, restaurants and other business services.
By promoting its conference facilities, hospitality services and tourism attractions together, Tanzania could encourage business visitors to extend their stays and return for future events.
Develop a coordinated East African tourism strategy
One of the biggest missed opportunities would be to treat the 2029 championships solely as a Kenyan event. Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda could work together to promote East Africa as a multi-country destination, coordinating international marketing, travel information, aviation connections and integrated tourism packages.
A shared message built around sport, wildlife, culture, adventure and beaches could encourage visitors to explore more than one country during a single trip.
Such cooperation would not eliminate competition among destinations. Instead, it would allow neighbouring countries to benefit from the increased international attention generated by a major event while highlighting their distinctive attractions.
For Tanzania, the key is to combine regional collaboration with a clear national proposition: World-renowned wildlife, spectacular landscapes, Mount Kilimanjaro, the beaches of Zanzibar and a wide range of cultural experiences.
Establish a dedicated Kenya 2029 tourism strategy
Although the championships will not take place in Tanzania, the country needs a clear strategy to capture the opportunities they create.
The scale of the potential benefits means that preparations should not be left to individual businesses acting independently.
The government could establish a Kenya 2029 Tourism Opportunity Taskforce, bringing together the ministry responsible for tourism, the Tanzania Tourist Board, immigration authorities, airport operators, airlines, hotels, tour operators, local governments and private-sector representatives.
The taskforce should develop a practical action plan with measurable targets and clear responsibilities.
These could include attracting additional international visitors, extending average stays, increasing tourism revenue, launching integrated travel packages, improving air connectivity, supporting SMEs, encouraging investment and creating jobs.
It should also identify priority source markets, establish timelines for international marketing campaigns, monitor booking trends and assess the readiness of transport and tourism infrastructure.
Regular progress reviews would help identify bottlenecks and ensure that public agencies and private businesses work towards shared objectives.
This would transform the opportunity from a broad marketing concept into a coordinated economic programme.
The wider economic payoff
Tourism has a multiplier effect because visitors spend money across a wide range of sectors. A traveller moving from Nairobi to Tanzania may generate revenue for airlines, airports, hotels, restaurants, tour operators, fuel suppliers, national parks, craft producers and telecommunications companies.
The potential benefits of Kenya 2029 therefore extend well beyond tourism statistics. Increased visitor spending could support foreign exchange earnings, employment, SMEs, tax revenues and investment across aviation, hospitality, transport and related industries.
There is also a regional branding dividend. Repeated international exposure to East Africa through athletics, wildlife and tourism could strengthen the region’s global visibility and encourage future visits long after the championships have ended.
However, capturing these benefits will require Tanzania to balance cooperation with competition. Kenya will understandably use the championships to promote its own tourism industry, and Tanzania cannot assume that international visitors will automatically cross the border.
It must offer distinctive, accessible and competitively priced experiences, supported by reliable transport, convenient booking arrangements and consistently high service standards.
The country’s strongest advantage lies in the combination of globally recognised attractions such as the Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar.
The challenge is to package these experiences in ways that make them easy to purchase and combine with the Kenyan sporting programme.
Ultimately, tourism competitiveness depends not only on the attractions a country possesses but also on connectivity, convenience, pricing, digital marketing and the quality of the visitor experience.
Turning Kenya 2029 into a lasting opportunity
Kenya’s hosting of the 2029 World Athletics Championships offers Tanzania a valuable opportunity to benefit economically from a major international event taking place in the region. But the country must act early if it is to turn global sporting attention into additional tourism revenue.
The priorities are clear: develop Kenya–Tanzania tourism corridors, create integrated travel packages, strengthen aviation connections, expand sports tourism and coordinate international marketing efforts.
With effective planning, a visitor could watch the world’s leading athletes compete in Nairobi, explore the wildlife of the Serengeti, experience the landscapes around Kilimanjaro and unwind on Zanzibar’s beaches, all as part of one East African journey.
That is the bigger opportunity. Kenya 2029 should be viewed not simply as a sporting event hosted by one country, but as a platform for East Africa to showcase itself as a diverse and interconnected tourism destination.
For Tanzania, the challenge is to capture a meaningful share of the resulting visitor spending while building tourism products and partnerships that continue to deliver benefits well beyond 2029.
The real measure of success will not be how many tourists Tanzania attracts during the championships alone, but how effectively it converts this temporary global spotlight into lasting investment, jobs and a stronger tourism industry
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