The number of foreign tourists visiting Tanzania rose 48.6 percent from 620,867 in 2020 to 922,692 in 2021, Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said Wednesday.

Majaliwa revealed the latest figures when he opened the 65th Conference for World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Regional Commission for Africa in the northern city of Arusha, according to a statement by the Prime Minister's Office.

He said the rise in foreign tourist arrivals has seen tourism earnings increasing by 81.8 percent from 714.59 million U.S. dollars in 2020 to 1.3 billion dollars in 2021.

The prime minister said the government has put in place a mega tourism strategy aimed at increasing the number of foreign tourist arrivals to 5 million by 2025 which will earn the country 6 billion U.S. dollars by 2025.

The conference will be followed by a forum on the theme -- Rebuilding Africa's Tourism Resilience for Inclusive Socio-Economic Development, said the statement.

Zurab Pololikashvili, the UNWTO secretary-general, pledged that his organization will work hard in supporting member countries in recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic that heavily affected the tourism industry.