Dar sees tourism boom

• Number of foreign, domestic tourists hit 3,818,180

TANZANIA has recorded a massive increase of both domestic and foreign tourists in a period of one year, following numerous efforts undertaken by the government to market tourism in the country.

According to the Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism Mohamed Mchengerwa, the number of tourists who visited national parks and the national museum has increased from 1,711,625 tourists in 2021 to 3,818,180 tourists in 2022 which is equivalent to a 123 per cent increase.

Mchengerwa revealed this yesterday while tabling the 654.6bn/- budget estimates for his docket for the 2023/2024 financial year for recurrent and development expenditure.

The minister explained that the number of foreign visitors increased from 922,692 in 2021 to 1,454,920 tourists in 2022 equivalent to a 57.7 per cent increase.

On the other hand, the minister said, the number of domestic tourists also increased from 788,933 in 2021 to 2,363,260 tourists in 2022, which is equivalent to a 199.5 per cent rise.

He explained that the tourists surge is attributed to various factors including promoting the country’s tourist attractions and strengthening tourism infrastructure within the national parks.

Other factors include the Royal Tour documentary featuring President Samia Suluhu Hassan, which aimed at marketing the country’s tourism attractions.

The minister commended Tanzanians for their zeal to visit tourist attractions, calling upon them to continue touring the sites.

“It is important for citizens to take part and benefit from the growing tourism in the country especially in national parks and tourism sites by improving their home stays and constructing special houses for tourists, who prefer to live alone or with community,” he said.

He further noted that, in the next financial year, the government will conclude the review of the Tourism Act No 29 of 2008, with the aim of improving tourism business environment, verify and inspect tourism agents in four zones and build capacity on laws, regulations and guidelines governing tourism businesses in the country.

“In efforts to develop strategic tourism products, the ministry will continue with various efforts to promote the growth of beach and ecology tourism among others,” he said.

In addition to that, he said, the ministry will also identify tourist attractions in Mara, Morogoro, Katavi, Tanga and Rukwa regions for investment opportunities and development of tourism activities.

The minister added that the government will also continue to promote the Southern Circuit, where there are numerous tourist attractions.

The government will also continue to grade accommodation facilities in the country in Mbeya, Kilimanjaro and Mwanza regions and make evaluation on quality of services in Dar es Salaam and Arusha.

The minister listed other priorities in the next budget which include; promoting tourism within and outside the country through the Royal Tour film and other international festivals, developing new tourism products, including strategic ones such as beach, conference, cruise ship, sports and culture tourism.

“The government will also strengthen infrastructure in national parks in order to facilitate tourism activities… it will also strengthen conservation and sustainable use of natural resources, antiquities and museums and market them through digital platforms,” Mchengerwa said.

He said the government will also proceed with its strategy of planting trees and value addition of forest and beekeeping products.

According to the minister, the tourism sector contributes 25 per cent of foreign currency, while the forest sector contributes 5.9 per cent. Thus, the tourism and the forest sectors respectively contribute 17.5 per cent and 3.3 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).