Tanzania: Hoteliers Plead for Hospitality Industry

LACK of friendly business environment is a major threat to tourism, hospitality industry leaders said in Dar es Salaam.

Hotel Association of Tanzania (HAT) Chief Executive Officer, Ms Lathifa Sykes, said during hospitality roundtable 2014 that as the problems that hitch tourism sector growth remains unaddressed, its contribution to the economy would drop.

She highlighted problems like the multiplicity of taxes, levies, charges, destruction of natural resources, loss of competitive edge as some of the setbacks that call for swift measures to rescue the tourism sector.

"Tanzania has huge potentials in the tourism sector, but investors from around the globe eyeing investment opportunities in the industry get discouraged by the unfriendly investment climate," she said while citing the unpredictable tax regulations as an aspect that puts them off.

According to Tanzania Tourism Board (TTB), a total of 1,135,884 tourists visited Tanzania last year, bringing earnings from the Tanzania tourism sector to an historical high of 1.8 billion US dollars.

She said the outstanding performance registered last year may drop if no swift measures are taken to address the problems hindering the sector's growth.

Tanzania that relies heavily on tourist dollars from visits was aiming for a record year to top the more than one million visitors who came in 2013 but that now looks to be a pipedream.

For example with Ebola epidemic, the hotel industry has already reported a 30 to 40 per cent drop in business, while 2015 bookings have plummeted 50 per cent.

To educate visitors and debunk any rumours, a website will be launched this month to provide information to thousands of tourists mainly from Britain, Germany, the United States and Italy most of who view Africa is not one country, not a continent.

"We sympathise with our brothers and sisters in West Africa for the disease that has claimed over 5,000 livesÉ but Tanzania remains Ebola free," she said.

The Director of Peacock Hotels, Mr Damasi Mfugale, said the hospitality roundtable 2014 that brought together key players from different parts of the world was significant in learning new skills for the development of hotel industry.

Mr Mfugale said lacking creativity for attracting new investments, poor hospitality services and unqualified management are among the setbacks that haunt the sustainability and growth of the hotel industry.