ARUSHA, Tanzania, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian tourism stakeholders on Sunday come out in opposition of the unveiled plan to build cable cars on Mount Kilimanjaro, saying the project will cut jobs and eliminate the fun of hiking for days to the roof of Africa.

Key industry players namely tour operators, guides and porters strongly protest the proposed facility, saying climbing Kilimanjaro Mountain on foot is a lifetime experience that should never be compromised by cable cars.

The protest came few weeks when Constantine Kanyasu, Tanzania's Deputy Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism said that the Cable Car project is part of the government's latest strategy to woo tourists with over 50 years of age.

Mount Kilimanjaro Porters Society (MKPS) opposes the cable car product outright, saying it will deny employment to nearly 250,000 mountain porters scaling up Mount Kilimanjaro for a wage each year.

"Much as the cable car service doesn't require porters, majority of tourists will climb Mount Kilimanjaro on day trip basis using the new product to cut down costs and length of stay," said Edson Mpemba, MKPS Vice Chairman.

Mpemba wondered that decision makers had overlooked interests of the huge number of the unskilled labour force, which solely depends on the mountain to eke out a living.

"Think of the ripple effect on families of the 250,000 unskilled porters," he stresses, cautioning: "The cable car facility will initially look like a noble and innovative idea, but it will, in the long run, ruin the future of the majority of local people whose livelihood depends on the mountain."

Juma Salewa, a seasoned mountain tour guide also said that the glittering cable car product will contradict the country's conservation policy, as it will encourage mass tourism and become a major threat to the ecology of Mount Kilimanjaro.

He also said that tour operators are also worried over the cable car harshly affecting revenues in the long run, owing to the service significantly reducing the length of stay from eight to one day.

"Assume all 50,000 tourists hiking Mount Kilimanjaro a year opt for the cable car, the national park will get 4.1 million U.S. dollars as a fee, down from the current 55.3 million U.S. dollars," he said.

Betty Looibok, Chief Park Warden with Kilimanjaro National Park (Kinapa) said the cable car is but only one of several additional tourism products embedded into Mount Kilimanjaro's General Management Plan (GMP) in an effort to boost revenue.

"Cable car is for physically challenged persons and aged tourists who want to experience the thrill of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro up to Shira Plateau without wishing to reach the summit," she explained.

She further explained that the construction of the cable car will depend on the outcome of the environmental and social impact assessment study, which is currently underway.

According to her, plans for the cable car service on the Kilimanjaro Mountain are not entirely new; as the discussions date back to 1960s when the issue was raised but never materialized.

The feasibility plan in place will, however, bring the cable car one step closer to reality and make the mountain more accessible to special-needs groups than it has been so far.

Some of the 50,000 tourists conquering Mount Kilimanjaro peaks a year use one of the six separate walking routes to the roof. Enditem

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