By George Obulutsa

DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - Tanzania, popular for its wildlife and beaches, expects tourism earnings to exceed $1 billion in 2008 thanks to marketing in North America and Europe.

"This year, we are going to embark on an aggressive marketing campaign in our major source markets," Peter Mwenguo, managing director of the state-run Tanzania Tourist Board, told Reuters on Friday.

"For 2008, we are anticipating more than $1 billion. In terms of tourist arrivals, it will go to over 800,000 tourists ... This year, we anticipate attracting 750,000 tourists to the country, who will bring in about $950 million."

That would be an increase on the $862 million made from 644,124 visitors to the east African nation last year, according to the tourist board.

Mwenguo said the country's main markets were Britain, Germany, the United States, Italy, France, Spain, and the Scandinavian countries.

The board plans a marketing campaign targeting Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and the United States, where it will place advertisements on Cable News Network (CNN).

"In North America, we are going to place an advert on CNN, starting from this month to run up to the end of the year."

Tourism employs around 200,000 Tanzanians directly and accounts for around a quarter of Tanzania's total foreign exchange inflows.

New markets were also emerging around Africa in countries like South Africa, Namibia, Kenya and Uganda, Mwenguo added.

Kenyans and Ugandans receive special accommodation and park rates as members of regional trade bloc East African Community.

However, Mwenguo said the tourism sector still faced bottlenecks like a limited number of flights into the country, and the quality of service that tourists receive.

Other problems included a poor road network and limited accommodation, especially within and around the national parks.

Mwenguo said the accommodation problem was being tackled.

"For instance in the Serengeti there are four new areas that are being offered for investment for lodges. Already there is a lodge being constructed," he said.

"I know the Aga Khan Group is due to put up three new properties in the southern part of Tanzania."

The Aga Khan Group has shares in Serena Hotels, which has two hotels and four lodges in mainland Tanzania and one hotel on the semi-autonomous archipelago of Zanzibar.

Tanzania's visitors come to enjoy its beaches, scale Africa's highest mountain Mount Kilimanjaro or watch animal migrations, to and from Kenya, in its renowned Serengeti National Park, in the north of the country.

Tourists also have a chance to pursue sport hunting, which Mwenguo said brings an average of $14 million in licence fees.