Tanzania to have sufficient tourist hotels in 10 years

The firms Acting Director General, Devota Mdachi

Tanzania is expected to have sufficient tourists’ hotels come 2025, thanks to the conducive environment that is pushing private sector hotel investments in the country, the Tanzania Tourists Board (TTB) has said.

The firms Acting Director General, Devota Mdachi was speaking on Friday this week in Dar es Salaam during the launch of ‘Best Western Plus Collosseum’ a three star hotel located along Nkrumah Street in the city.

Devota said the private sector has been in the forefront in construction of hotels in the country that has led to the tremendous growth of the sector in the recent years.

“It is our expectation that if things go well we shall have enough tourists’ hotels by 2025,  this is also likely to increase the number of tourists’ arrivals, she said adding that during the period the country will improve infrastructure to receive more international airlines that will lead to increased tourists and investments”.
She said tourists visiting the country are expected to double to 2 million by 2017, from 1.9million record of last year which earned the country $1.85billion.

The increase in tourists in the country for the past two years has overtaken Kenya’s dominance and boosted the country’s ambitions to becoming a regional tourist hub.

Statistics shows that tourists’ arrivals in Kenya slid last year to 1.5 million after an all-time high of 1.8 million in 2011. In the first quarter of 2014 the number of visitors dropped 4 per cent compared to 2013. She said the board will continue to promote Dar es Salaam as a tourists’ hub that would enable visitors to stay longer in the city before their upcountry tourism attraction trips.

The city’s attraction includes the famous Mbudya, Bongoyo and Sinda islands. Others are: natural beaches along the Indian Ocean coasts, the national museum, Kariakoo market, old historical building like Forodhani which houses the court of appeal, Mwenge sculptors market and many others.

Earlier, the Director of Operations at Best Western Plus Collosseum hotel, Mustafa Dhanji, said they would recruit more Tanzanian professionals and ensure that local products are purchased to promote the country’s products.

He urged the board to increase its efforts of marketing tourism attractions in Dar es Salaam and preserve historic buildings and sites.

There have been concerns by tourism stakeholders at the governments’ trend of demolishing old historical buildings in the city of Dar es Salaam to pave way for the construction of high rise building saying the exercise denies the city’s revenues accrued from tourism.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN