Revealed: German tourists big spenders in Tanzania
What you need to know:
It is estimated that about 60,000 tourists from Germany visit Tanzania every year out of leisure visitors from outside, now estimated at 1.5 million a year
Arusha. Germans are big spenders among tourists visiting Tanzania annually because they stay longer than leisure visitors from other countries.
However, official figures by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) say visitors from the United States were the biggest spenders among foreign tourists in Tanzania for 2017, replacing China, which topped the list in 2016.
“There is a strong German element in Tanzania’s tourism than sheer numbers. They stay longer in Tanzania,” the country’s ambassador Detlef Wachter said here on Monday.
Germany, one of the strongest economies in the world, is ranked number three as a source of tourists to Tanzania after the US and the UK.
It is estimated that about 60,000 tourists from Germany visit Tanzania every year out of leisure visitors from outside, now estimated at 1.5 million a year. The German ambassador affirmed surveys have indicated visitors from his country were leading the pack in the number of nights spent in Tanzania.
“Given the number of nights, the Germans stay longer in Tanzania enjoying the beauty of mountains and beach resorts,” he said. Some of them stay up to two weeks. Dr Wachter was speaking to local tourism stakeholders preparing to take part in the coming Berlin International Tourism Fair slated for March 6 to 10.
He added that another survey indicated a significant number of tourists from his country visit Tanzania more than once compared to those from other countries.
According to the ambassador, the government of Germany supports the country’s multi-million dollar tourism sector by funding indirectly major conservation programmes.
In the last seven years, Berlin granted Tanzania a total of 100 million euros for biodiversity conservation projects.
and those focused on sustainable natural resource management involving local communities.
“The German private sector, for its part, is investing in hotels,” he said, without giving more details. The permanent secretary in the ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, Prof Adolf Mkenda, said the government would put more efforts in promoting the southern circuit as major tourist destination.
Most of these would be implemented within the framework of the World Bank-financed Resilient Natural Resource Management for Tourism and Growth Project (REGROW).
The six-year project, for which the Bretton Woods institution injected $150 million, was launched in 2017.
It is aimed at positioning the southern circuit as an engine of growth through tourism development and increased conservation of national parks and game reserves.
The US continue to be the leading source of about 1.5 million tourists visiting the country annually followed by the UK, Germany, Italy and India.
Other top tourism source markets for Tanzania are France, China, the Netherlands, Canada and Australia.
