Stakeholders decry sharp fall in number of tourists

Mwanza. Despite Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB) reports, which suggest a big number of tourists visit the country, tourism stakeholders in the region face a difficult time due to a sharp drop in the number tourists.

Hotel operators have continued performing poorly, including artists of cultural products like locally-made sandals due to lack of buyers, the majority being toruists.

However, TTB marketing officer Glads Tony told The Citizen at the weekend that despite the introduction of new taxes and procedures in the tourism sector, the number of tourists had increased compared to previous years.

“Despite the rising cost of travelling by tourists due to Value Added Tax (VAT), the number of tourists visiting Tanzania is still high unlike in the past,” said the officer. He noted that in 2015, tourists, who visited Tanzania reached 1.1 million, while in 2016, they were 1.2 million.

Mr Tony urged tour operators and others to change their ways of marketing. He said they shouldn’t wait for tourists to visit their places, instead they should go out and market their products and services.

Commenting on the drop and increase of tourists in the country, Serengeti Tour Operator Company manager Ben Mongeta urged the government to review newly introduced tourism taxes.

He said the move would help them compete with member countries of the East African Community, whereby similar taxes had been waived.

An artist, Mr Emmanuel Nehemiah, said he was experiencing problems in his business since 2016 due to lack of customers.

“There are fewer customers than they used to come in previous years,” he said. According him, in 2014, they would receive up to 15 customers per day, making their sales go up to about $100 per day, but for the time being the situation was different.