Profile: Egidia Justinian

Egidia Justinian, 24, is the third of four students who are at the Butiama Cultural Tourism Enterprise (BCTE) for their field attachment from the Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA). She is a second-year student in the Bachelor of Science in Tourism Management, learning tour guiding skills through the BCTE.

“I have had great interest in discovering the tourist attractions that are in our country.” She decided that one of the ways she would be able to discover these treasures was to enroll in the university program and work in a tourism-related field.

She says in high school she had three preferences of study: tourism, teacher training, and law and was eventually selected to study tourism.

What are her impressions of Butiama? She feels the Tanzania Tourist Board should sensitize the local communities on the concept behind cultural tourism to ensure smooth operations when a cultural tourism enterprise is launched in a particular area.

“It is after the residents within the communities understand the concept behind cultural tourism that the enterprise should be launched, because we face various challenges with residents complaining that they are used to visiting this area without paying entrance fees.”

She has advice for other young Tanzanians. “Because tourism is an expanding sector, I advise the youth to study tourism, and one important thing is they should learn various languages. Not just English, even French and Spanish.”

She has plans to work in a national park, or if that is not possible, she prefers to work in a cultural tourism enterprise.

Why should anyone visit the BCTE? She says Butiama has an attractive environment; the visitor will learn about the various activities that Mwalimu [Nyerere] has done; will visit the Mwalimu J.K. Nyerere Museum; the visitor will see where Mwalimu was born, and will also learn about the Zanaki, Mwalimu's ethnic group.

“The other important reason for visiting Butiama is to visit Mwalimu's mausoleum because some visitors believe there is a switch that once turned on allows visitors to see his remains. They should come and see for themselves instead of listening to rumors. I even had students today who asked me the same question,” she concludes.

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