Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson traveled to Africa to sign a sister city agreement with Dar es Salaam. He visited two luxe safari lodges on the trip, according to records.

DALLAS — Dallas Mayor Eric L. Johnson’s summer trip to sign a new sister city agreement with Dar es Salaam in Tanzania cost in excess of $40,000, records obtained by WFAA showed. 

A portion of the mayor’s costs — which included business class tickets on Qatar Airways and lodging at two luxury safari lodges — was set to be reimbursed by a fund financed by private donations, the records indicated. The remainder will be funded by taxpayers. 

Two staff members were set to accompany the mayor on the eight-day trip in late July, the records showed. In all, the trip cost $44,892.65 — at least $18,167.47 of which was directly attributed to the mayor’s costs, according to the records.

The mayor stayed at five-star hotels on his visit — including one that boasts an infinity pool with views over the Indian Ocean — and spent four nights at two safari camps near the Serengeti, the records showed. He flew business class on Qatar Airways, which advertises “Qsuite” lie-flat seating on its flights from DFW. 

A Google Flights search places Qatar Airways’ one-stop trip from DFW to Dar es Salaam — the fifth-most populous city in Africa, with an estimated population of 7.4 million people — as a minimum 27-hour-long journey with at least one stop at Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar.

The mayor’s trip across the globe occurred just as city officials back home were making tough decisions amid a challenging budget year — confronting declining revenue and a voter-approved mandate to spend millions of additional dollars on public safety. The resulting budget proposal, unveiled days after the mayor’s return, slashes more than 200 city positions, combines various departments, and proposes the closure of two community pools and a library.  

“Ensuring the City of Dallas practices fiscal responsibility and is a good steward of taxpayer funds has always been one of Mayor Johnson’s principal goals,” the mayor’s office said in a statement to WFAA. “Because of his fiscally responsible priorities, the Mayor has ensured that his travel costs the city only the standard reimbursement rates that City policy permits for any official travel.”


The mayor’s office asked the Dallas International Fund to reimburse the city $13,381 for the portion of the mayor’s expenses that exceeded the government rate, the records showed. That fund is financed by private donations and was created to “expand Dallas’ global relationships,” according to a spokesperson for The Dallas Foundation, which administers the fund. 

The spokesperson said the organization is currently reviewing the expenses from the trip and will only pay “if they align with the guidelines and stipulations set forth in the fund agreement.” The spokesperson declined to detail those guidelines, and said the Foundation “does not routinely reimburse travel for city officials.” 

Johnson arrived in the East African country on July 19 to sign a sister city agreement with its largest city, Dar es Salaam — Dallas’ first such partnership with a city in Africa, the city said. 

“It is important for the mayor of Dallas to promote the nation’s ninth-largest city across the country and around the world,” the mayor’s office said in a statement to WFAA. “Dallas is not an insular, parochial city. Dallas is an international city — a city of global consequence.” 

The mayor’s office’s statement said Johnson’s visit was focused on strengthening economic ties between Dallas and Tanzania — and that conversations about investments in Dallas that began in Dar es Salaam are continuing beyond Johnson’s trip, with a delegation of Tanzanian business leaders planning a trip to Texas later this year. 

The mayor’s office said Johnson led the effort to make Dallas the home of the headquarters of the Tanzanian American Chamber of Commerce (TACC), and added that the visit completes an objective outlined in a 2022 memorandum of understanding signed with the Tanzanian government. 


A multi-city trip

In addition to the three nights Johnson spent in Dallas’ newly-minted sister city of Dar es Salaam, the mayor also traveled to the popular tourist island of Zanzibar and spent four nights at two luxury safari camps near the famed Serengeti, the records showed. 

While in Dar es Salaam, the mayor met with local leaders, delivered remarks to the American Chamber of Commerce in Tanzania (AmCham Tanzania) and visited a factory that makes denim jeans for brands like Wrangler and Levi’s, the mayor’s office said. 


While on Zanzibar, the mayor’s office said, Johnson met with the Lord Mayor of Zanzibar City and toured a UNESCO World Heritage site as well as a spice farm. The records indicate he stayed at the Park Hyatt Zanzibar, which advertises “5 star luxury,” four-poster beds, and an infinity pool overlooking the Indian Ocean. 

The records placed the cost for the mayor’s two nights in Zanzibar at $1,270 — more than double the “government rate” of about $300 a night.

Johnson also traveled to the Tanzanian city of Arusha, where he visited a coffee plantation, a cultural center and a medical clinic, a mayor’s office readout of the trip said. He also visited the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, a vast game park where he “praised the region’s natural beauty and biodiversity, showcasing another opportunity for Dallas-Tanzania tourism collaboration,” the readout said. 


The records obtained by WFAA show the city also paid nearly $21,000 to a company called Mwiba Holdings, which records show operates a safari company called Legendary Expeditions. 

The records indicate that the city delegation stayed two nights at two Legendary Expedition lodges — including one in Arusha that bills itself as a “5-star sanctuary tucked away within the grounds of a working coffee estate.” The cost for the mayor’s two-night stay at that resort was $2,910, the records showed. 

Records showed the mayor also stayed at a Legendary Expedition lodge in Songa — a tented camp that follows the path of the great migration across the Serengeti. The cost for the mayor’s two-night stay there was $2,450, per the records WFAA obtained. 

“Mayor Johnson’s itinerary throughout his official visit was arranged by the TACC and the Tanzanian government,” the mayor’s office said in a statement. “Mayor Johnson’s lodging was chosen by Tanzanian officials as well, with considerations for safety and proximity to the day’s meetings and events.”


The mayor’s office statement also noted that the mayor’s security detail did not make the trip, thus “making safety an even more important consideration.”

Added the mayor’s office statement: “The cost to the City of Dallas is the same regardless of the lodging selected, as the difference between the actual cost and the City’s standard policy rate is reimbursed to the City through the aforementioned Dallas International Fund.”

Records from the city indicated a member of the Mayor’s International Advisory Council approved the expenses in an email August 1. However, The Dallas Foundation said it had not yet determined whether they met the stipulations set forth in the Dallas International Fund’s agreement. 

“Our team is currently reviewing the expenses from this trip,” a Dallas Foundation spokesperson said. “Our mission is to steward donor contributions responsibly and ensure they are used for the purposes intended.”