ARUSHA TANZANIA: The Mount Meru Hotel – which will open on the 1st of November – will begin its commissioning procedures during the coming weeks when it interviews candidates for 276 permanent positions on its team.

The hotel is set to become the essential luxury stay-over for tours and independent travellers on their way to and from their East African adventures, and will add even more sparkle to the many attractions of the northern Tanzanian town.

“The 178 room Mount Meru Hotel will change the landscape of hospitality in Arusha,” said Rafique Symonette, managing Director of Inflection Capital, which represents the property’s owners, the Southern African Enterprise Development Fund.

“Those 276 positions will make it one of the larger employers in the hospitality industry in the city.”

Mr. Symonette said that that 147 of these positions would be created in the Food and Beverage Department, which will run four restaurants on the property, while the Rooms Division will create 75 positions, and the rest will work in administration and support services.

He said that Holtan, the company contracted to complete the building of the hotel, was currently employing 400 people on the project – the majority of whom are drawn from the local community, and have been employed over the last eighteen months.

“The Southern African Enterprise Development Fund has committed itself to using local talent in all departments of the hotel, and we aim to have the Hotel managed and run entirely by Tanzanians within one year of opening,” said Mr. Symonette.

“We’ve employed some expatriates to help with the opening and the training of the staff – and to ensure that the highest standards are achieved and maintained – because the Mount Meru Hotel will be of a world class standard, which we’ll only be able to attain by embracing skills and technology from across the globe.”

Apart from direct, formal income generated by the salaries it will pay, Mount Meru Hotel is expected to boost the local economy through the establishment of small and micro enterprise within Arusha and the surrounding region.

“The hotel expects to purchase fresh produce from local communities – which will boost local economies by creating a secure and reliable market for small vegetable growers,” said Mr. Symonette.

Zabulan Hospitality – whose CEO, Rowald Kresfelder, and executive director, Anton Perold, have been involved with the opening, renovation and re-launch of various top hotels in Africa – has been contracted to manage the Mount Meru.

“Zabulan Hospitality has more than 60 years of international management experience in hospitality, and will be a real asset to the Mount Meru Hotel, and to the Tanzanian hospitality industry,” said Mr. Symonette.

“I’m sure that the residents of Arusha, our esteemed clients, and the public at large are as excited as we are about the opening of the Mount Meru Hotel,” he said.

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES: Prospective employees should send their credentials and contact details to the Human Resources Manager – applications@mountmeruhotel.com.

ABOUT TANZANIA AND ARUSHA:

GATEWAY:
Arusha, the safari capital of Tanzania, is the gateway to:

  • Kilimanjaro, (270 km to the southeast; at 5,893 metres above sea level, the highest mountain in Africa, and, at 5,882 metres above its base, the highest freestanding mountain in the world);
  • The Serengeti (a 30,000 km2 region in north-western Tanzania and south-western Kenya, and about 300 km from Arusha. Its animal migration has been described as one of the ten wonders of the natural world);
  • The Ngorongoro Conservation Area (a UNESCO World Heritage Site situated in the Crater Highlands area, 180 km west of Arusha);
  • The 231 km2 Lake Manyara – a shallow (maximum depth 3.7 m) body of water in the Great Rift Valley that was said by Ernest Hemingway to be the “loveliest [lake] … in Africa;”
  • The Olduvai (now Oldupai) Gorge – commonly referred to as ‘The Cradle of Mankind’ – a steep-sided ravine in the Great Rift Valley that’s considered one of the world’s most important prehistoric sites. The archaeology of the area – famously pioneered by Louis and Mary Leakey – is interpreted in the Olduvai Gorge Museum; and
  • Tarangire National Park – the sixth largest in Tanzania (after Ruaha, Serengeti, Mikumi, Katavi and Mkomazi). It’s famous for its huge herds of elephant, its baobab trees, and its tree-climbing African pythons.

ATTRACTIONS:

  • The Arusha Cultural Heritage Centre presents the past and present of more than 120 tribes of Tanzania, with impressive displays of carvings, gemstones, artifacts, clothing, and books, etc;
  • The Arusha Declaration Museum portrays the political and economic development of Tanzanian societies from pre-colonial period to the present, with emphasis on foreign interaction before colonial rule, as well as the periods of German and British rule, the struggle for independence, the act of Union, the formulation of Tanzania’s policy for self-reliance, and the development of the country following the Arusha Declaration.
  • The Arusha International Conference Centre, which caters for conferences, workshops, seminars, and meetings of between 10 and 1,350 delegates;
  • Arusha National Park – the closest national park to the city – “a multi-faceted jewel, often overlooked by safari-goers, despite offering the opportunity to explore a beguiling diversity of habitats within a few hours.”
  • Meserani Snake Park, 25km west of Arusha, on the route to the Serengeti and Ngorongoro crater;
  • The National Natural History Museum, in the Old German Boma (built in 1886 for administration and communication purposes) – which has displays that feature human evolution as presented by items discovered at Olduvai Gorge. The Laetoli Footprints are a major highlight – they date back more than 3,500,000 years;
  • Lake Duluti, east of Arusha – which offers guided nature trails and canoeing, and is home to more than 130 species of birds.

EVENTS:

  • The annual Nane Nane Agricultural show (August 8) attracts up to a half million people;
  • Arusha is the home of rugby in Tanzania: its stadium is the chosen site for international tests.

PRODUCE & MINERALS:

  • Farmers in the Arusha area produce awesome coffee that’s sought after internationally; and
  • Arusha is the sole source of the gem Tanzanite.

TANZANIA:

  • The United Republic of Tanzania is located in central East Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean (its coastline is 1,400 km long)
  • Capital: Dodoma
  • Area: 945,203 km2 – of which 6.2% is covered by water
  • Population (2009 estimate): 43.74 million
  • Arusha (Population 1.3 million) is located in northern Tanzania, below Mount Meru on the eastern edge of the eastern branch of the Great Rift Valley. According to Wikipedia – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arusha – “Despite its proximity to the equator, Arusha’s elevation of 1400 m on the southern slopes of Mount Meru keeps temperatures down and alleviates humidity. Cool dry air is prevalent for much of the year. The temperature ranges between 13 and 30 degrees Celsius with an average around 25 degrees. It has distinct wet and dry seasons, and experiences an eastern prevailing wind from the Indian Ocean, a couple of hundred miles east.”

More Information: Mount Meru Hotel www.mountmeruhotel.com

Media Enquiries: Mariki Theron c/o House of Ngamathuba
Cell: 0027(0)83 375 3973
Fax: 0027(0)86 530 3249
experiences@octagonal.co.za