African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1518 Tourism Industry

Artuzov was young and experienced in dealing with enemies, having spent many years operating in various European countries and focusing on foreign affairs. Both men were very confident in such a candidate.

After finalizing the selection, Joseph emphasized: "We must go all out in this Austro-Hungarian operation. Before we start, we should have a detailed and feasible plan. Our minimum requirement is that the red flag be planted on Vienna soil."

As a multi-ethnic confederation, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was at risk of disintegration in the event of any unrest. Therefore, Joseph did not believe that the labor parties of the various countries in the Austro-Hungarian Empire could unite without any resentment; otherwise, there would be no distinction between the Austrian Labor Party and the Hungarian Labor Party.

In a sense, the Soviet Union's political model was similar to that of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, both being composed of numerous constituent republics. However, Russia was too powerful and had a higher proportion of ethnic Russians, making the Soviet Union more stable than the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Menzinski said, "At present, Austria-Hungary will become an important piece for us to stir up the situation in the whole of Europe, and it is also an excellent area to expand the influence of the world Labour Party. I believe that with our support, the Austrian Labour Party will not disappoint us."

Whether or not the Soviet Union supported them made a world of difference for the labor parties in other countries. After all, the Soviet Union controlled vast resources. If the Soviet Union had supported the Hungarian Labor Party in the Hungarian question, the fate of the Hungarian Labor Party regime might have been completely different.

Unfortunately, the Soviet Union was unable to set aside its prejudices and cooperate sincerely with the Hungarian Labour Party. At the same time, the international environment at the time also prevented the Soviet Union from fully supporting the Hungarian Labour Party.

At that time, it was the 1920s, a period of great prosperity for the entire capitalist world after the war. The United States had its "Roaring Twenties," Germany had its "Golden Twenties," and other countries, such as East Africa, Austria-Hungary, Britain, and France, all performed well. World imperialism was stronger than ever before.

However, the balance of power has now shifted. The capitalist world is facing the greatest economic crisis in history. Apart from East Africa, most other major capitalist empires are experiencing severe social problems and domestic turmoil.

This is also a major reason why the Soviet Union dares to extend its reach to Austria-Hungary today.

Even if other countries discovered them, they would be unable to retaliate against the Soviet Union due to the economic crisis. In fact, if things went wrong, domestic workers might riot due to the survival crisis.

War may be an effective way to divert attention from a crisis, but the shadow of World War I still hangs over the hearts of people in all countries. Therefore, at least in the current environment, no one will start a war.

As for the Soviet Union's current subversion of the Austro-Hungarian government, it is at most an interference in its internal affairs and more about provoking internal conflicts within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. As long as the Soviet Union does not send troops to intervene directly, other countries will at most issue a condemnation.

……

East Africa, Prussia province.

Arusha City.

Since the 20th century, Arusha has been an obscure little city in East Africa, but it once had a glorious period as the capital of Kilimanjaro Province in the early East African colony.

Later, Kilimanjaro Province was abolished, and Arusha's status as the provincial capital naturally disappeared. Without the support of its status as the provincial capital, Arusha gradually declined in other areas as well.

In the administrative division adjustment of 1896, Kilimanjaro Province was split up and incorporated into the Coastal Province, Oriental Province, Prussian Province, and Plateau Province.

Arusha, the former provincial capital, was placed under the jurisdiction of the Prussian province, whose capital is Nairobi, but Nairobi is in an awkward position.

Economically, Kisumu ranks first in the province, while Nairobi ranks second and Arusha ranks third. However, because Arusha was once the provincial capital, the citizens of Arusha have always been dissatisfied with Nairobi.

Many Arusha residents believe that if Arusha were the provincial capital, its economy would be even stronger than Nairobi's, and that Nairobi's success is entirely due to policy advantages.

In a restaurant in Arusha, several locals were discussing the topic, led by LeVert, who was drinking beer and talking animatedly.

“In the past, our city of Arusha ranked among the top twenty in the Empire, if not the top. Now, only Kisumu in the whole province can still rank in the middle to upper level in terms of economy. Nairobi and Arusha are probably only in the top fifty.”

"Given Nairobi's economy, it would have been better to hand over the provincial capital to our city of Arusha back then, and the economy of the entire Prussian province would not have declined to this extent."

"In terms of transportation, Nairobi benefited from the early Northern Railway. At that time, the Empire had relatively few railways, and cities that built railways first had a first-mover advantage."

"However, now our rail and road transportation in Arusha has surpassed that of Nairobi, and Arusha's advantage in transportation cannot be fully utilized because of Nairobi's suppression."

Arusha's land transportation is indeed quite outstanding in the east, as it is located at the intersection of four provinces, making it convenient to travel to Mombasa, Dar es Salaam, Dodoma, or Nairobi.

Travel between these cities is also very convenient via Arusha.

Therefore, Arusha has become a relatively important transportation hub city in East Africa.

LeVert continued, "And having advantages in transportation also means having certain advantages in economic development, with significantly reduced logistics costs and personnel travel costs."

“In terms of natural conditions, the two places are not much different. Therefore, Nairobi’s current economic surpassing that of Arusha is entirely due to its status as the provincial capital.”

Arusha and Nairobi both have a tropical savanna climate and are located on the eastern plateau. The only difference is that Nairobi receives slightly more rainfall than Arusha, but Arusha's average annual rainfall is still at least 800 millimeters, so it is not lacking in precipitation.

Nairobi's annual rainfall is probably only 100 to 200 millimeters more than Arusha's, ranging from 900 to 1,500 millimeters.

However, from a climatic perspective, both cities are quite livable places on a global scale, with moderate rainfall and a relatively cool climate due to their plateau topography.

Level's drinking buddy, Cassie, said, "Nairobi still has many advantages. In terms of transportation, the Northern Railway is the main artery of the empire's transportation. Although Arusha has more lines, its coverage area is not as great as Nairobi's."

“Nairobi connects with the Eastern Province, led by the coastal Mombasa, and the Great Lakes region, two economically important areas in the country, through the Northern Railway. At the same time, the Northern Railway can also attract resources and people from the areas along the line and cluster industries.”

"It is only because of Kisumu's port trade that it can outdo Nairobi. Ultimately, this is an advantage brought by its transportation location."

"In the Empire, only large national land transportation hubs like Rhine and New Frankfurt have the potential to compete with cities that have advantages in water transport."

As for small and medium-sized land hub cities, East Africa has a well-developed railway and highway network, so there are many such hub towns in the region. At this point, it depends on the advantages of the transportation routes and resources. Although there are many transportation routes passing through Arusha, they are mostly branch lines rather than main lines.

Meanwhile, the main economic axis of East Africa runs east-west, that is, trade between the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, making it easier for industries to cluster. In contrast, Arusha's transportation is more north-south oriented, and this disadvantage is more obvious in East Africa, which is north of the equator.

In the region south of the equator, because East African resources such as coal are concentrated in the southernmost parts of the South African plateau, the freight transport between the north and south is relatively substantial, such as the coal mines in Baden Province transporting coal to the industrial areas of Bohemia.

The area around Arusha has very few important natural resources, and its industry and agriculture within its economic sphere of influence rank only in the middle among all of East Africa.

Kashi continued, "Kisum is not a provincial capital, but it has become the most economically developed city in Prussia, surpassing Nairobi, which shows that politics is not the only factor in a city's economic development."

"Therefore, we have to admit that the gap between Arusha and Nairobi in various aspects is not entirely determined by the issue of the provincial capital title."

"As for other cities across the country, it's normal that they can surpass established imperial cities like Nairobi and Arusha and pull our city down in the economic rankings."

"Putting aside everything else, those coastal cities are far superior to us in terms of maritime transport alone. As the third largest city in Prussia, Arusha is actually hard to surpass even some small and medium-sized coastal cities in terms of economy."

"Fortunately, there are not many coastal cities in East Africa, otherwise, inland small and medium-sized cities such as Arusha would have a lot of room for decline."

Although East Africa is bordered by both the Indian and Atlantic Oceans, its straight coastline and lack of good ports have always been a problem for the continent.

This forces East Africa to focus its efforts on upgrading and expanding existing ports. In other words, if the number of ports is insufficient, it will improve their quality to mitigate the disadvantages of the East African coastline.

The results have been remarkable. In cities like Mombasa, Dar es Salaam, Cabinda, Luanda, and Beira, there are as many as five major coastal cities in East Africa with populations exceeding one million.

The United States has only three: New York, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles. The US coastline is in much better condition than East Africa, with numerous excellent ports.

However, East Africa lags far behind the United States in the number of small and medium-sized port cities.

This situation has provided more opportunities for the development of inland cities in East Africa. However, in international competition, the more excellent ports other countries have, the stronger their economic competitiveness will be, which will bring disadvantages to East Africa.

This is one of the reasons why East African governments are making great efforts to open up the Zambezi River for shipping.

A fertile piece of land, even if not developed now, can be transformed into arable land in the future. Similarly, a good port, even if it cannot be developed now, may become an economically developed region in the future, because its natural endowments are there.

This is similar to the Far Eastern Empire today. Given its conditions, the Far Eastern Empire was destined to achieve rapid economic growth once it resolved its internal problems.

Many of the East African government's projects were designed to address the inherent disadvantages of East Africa's natural conditions, which was the root cause of East Africa's economic take-off in the early 20th century.

Kasi also said, "The economic development of Arusha depends on the government's vision and capabilities, as well as the efforts of each of us. By leveraging our strengths and avoiding our weaknesses, Arusha will not only become a mainstay of East Africa's economy, but it will also avoid dragging the country down."

LeVert asked, "So how do you think Arusha should develop?"

Kashi said, "I won't go into detail about industry and agriculture, as Arusha's potential is limited. I'm more optimistic about the tertiary sector because Arusha has abundant tourism resources. Putting aside other factors, Mount Kilimanjaro, if utilized properly, can drive the development of many industries."

Arusha is located at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro, which is the highest peak in Africa and is very well-known. Its natural scenery is also a rarity in East Africa.

Especially the snow-capped peak of Kilimanjaro. Most parts of East Africa never see snow all year round, so the snow scenery is very attractive to East Africans, so much so that many people travel to Orange Province, the southernmost province of East Africa, to see the snow every year.

Kashi continued, "Besides the natural wonder of Mount Kilimanjaro, we also have the Gem Lake, the Serengeti plains, various volcanoes, the East African Rift Valley, and so on, all around Arusha."

The so-called Gem Lake is the former Lake Manyara in Tanzania. This lake is located at the bottom of the East African Rift Valley. However, the East African Rift Valley is actually very large, and it is difficult for people who are actually there to perceive this scar on the earth.

Kashi said, "Arusha boasts magnificent and diverse natural landscapes, a superior ecology, and an excellent climate, all of which are ideal conditions for tourism development. If it can be developed into a world-renowned summer resort and tourist destination, it has great potential."

Escaping the heat in Africa is no joke; the climate in many parts of inland East Africa is widely praised internationally.

Over the years, due to the development of the East African economy, many foreign politicians, diplomats, businessmen, tourists, and adventurers have come to East Africa, breaking their stereotypes about the country.

For example, in Rhine, the capital of East Africa, many European and American diplomats praised its environment and climate, especially Soviet diplomats.

During this era, traveling abroad was not popular in the Soviet Union; otherwise, East Africa would certainly have attracted a large number of Soviet tourists.

LeVert disagreed with Cassie's idea: "How can tourism compare to industry? So I think Arusha has a better future if it develops more industry."

It's no wonder LeVert said that. After all, this wasn't the 21st century, but the early 20th century. Many people in the world couldn't even get enough to eat. Even in Europe, a large number of people at the bottom of society were struggling to make a living. Therefore, LeVert believed that tourism was not a promising industry.

Of course, this is also the thought of the vast majority of people in this era.

However, the East African government attaches great importance to this industry. In recent years, the East African government has been vigorously promoting the natural scenery and various natural wonders of East Africa overseas.

The rudiments of modern tourism have emerged in East Africa, but the effects are not yet obvious.

Compared to the natural scenery of East Africa, what impresses most foreigners when they come to East Africa is actually the city and industrial development.

East African cities and industries are particularly attractive to underdeveloped countries and regions, making East Africa a target for many countries and regions to learn from economically.

(End of this chapter)