AT A CROSSROADS : Focus more on China in tourism

The world of big business is brutal, with big corporations and foreign governments investing in Africa. They spend huge amounts of money on “research,” and/ or “business intelligence.”    

It is common knowledge the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for ages has always been interested in getting information about foreign business developments, which may be a threat to the economy.

I write this column, using a computer and software, all patented by Americans, then send it to my editors, using a Gmail address, which is owned by an American company, Google, actually the largest internet company in the world.

Google intelligence could supersede that of the majority of governments in the world.  When we use their company’s services, which have become a way of life, it collects trends.   Obviously, the company is respected for its strict privacy policy. I can bet inside Google intelligence (what is never released to public), they can tell you which country will go to war.

If an employee of the company goes insane and decides to release some information, for example to enemies of a certain state, it can lead even to a government being overturned. Or if Google was in Africa, a rich man could bribe an employee and get information about the best-selling services online (information collected  from chrome browser, which many of us love), and start a business to provide those goods and services, targeting the customers getting them from different providers.

No wonder, China, the number one competitor for the status of superpower to the US, has been doing a lot, to ensure it has its home-grown internet. In Kiswahili, we would have said China hawataki ujinga!  Why is business intelligence so important for a company, a person or a government? Let us take an example of just a small aspect of this important discourse.

Talk of business trends; many times they make the difference between profit and loss.  For example, assume you want to keep livestock in a certain hamlet only to learn that most of the animals in the village die of diseases. It would be business suicide to take your livestock there, unless you first get into the root of the problem, and solve it.

Another example, people used to stereotype typical Tanzanians as not being drinkers of milk. Foreign companies have been selling packaged milk to us for ages. Then a local company decided to introduce the business big time, two or so years ago. Now their milk sells like hot cakes. Business trends are very important in decision-making, as they help us, not to use blind emotions in making business resolutions/ consideration.  In the stocks market, trends are very important in informing buyers of which stocks to buy for long term, and which ones should be taken for short term, and what to sell, even at a loss. 

One of the best bets to make Tanzania realise its high potential is tourism. Recently, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released a report that indicated Chinese tourists were the biggest spenders in Tanzania. On average, they spend $541 per person per night compared with the industry average of $181.  By releasing the information, NBS has freely handed over to suave tourist operators critical information, which they can use to earn billions.  Dear tourist operators in dear motherland, focus on China, and pay me later for bringing this to light to you!