US tourists spend more than Chinese

Tourists view giraffes in one of the national parks. US tourists overtook their Chinese counterparts in spending in Tanzania in 2017. PHOTO|FILE

What you need to know:

  • Visitors from United States of America have emerged as good spenders among foreign tourists in Tanzania for 2017.
  • The US has replaced China whose visitors spent more 2016, according the 2017 International Visitors’ Exit Survey published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Dar es Salaam. Visitors from United States of America are the biggest spenders among foreign tourists in Tanzania for 2017, replacing China which topped the list in 2016, according to the latest official data.

The 2017 International Visitors’ Exit Survey published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows that a US tourist spent an average of $327 (about Sh762,596) per night in 2017 while Chinese spent $277 (about Sh645,991).

In 2016, Chinese visitors were recorded to be the best spenders with the average of $541 (over Sh1.2 million) per tourist per night while the US tourist spent $226.

The US tourist average spending per person per night was lower than what China scored in the previous year, but was higher than the overall average expenditure of $161 for tourists from other countries.

The overall average expenditure for 2016 was $178, according to the survey.

“The lower average expenditure per person was associated with increase in the number of visitors from the neighbouring countries whose main purpose of visit is visiting friends and relatives and business, where expenditures in these purposes are usually low,” the data report reads.

The report also shows that the average expenditure per person per night for visitors who came under the package tour arrangement was $411, while those who used non-package tour arrangement spent an average of $136 per person per night.

As things stand, visitors on leisure and holidays were the highest spenders at an average of $356 per person per night during the year under review.

China, the United Kingdom, Canada, Norway, Netherlands, Italy, South Africa and France spent the most with their average expenditures above the national average of $161 per person per night, but their average expenditure was far below what the US travellers spent.

During the year under review, visitors from the US accounted for 13.2 per cent of all arrivals while China accounted for 3.9 per cent.

The findings also indicate that the average length of stay for visitors was 10 nights, the length that has remained at that level since 2012.

However, US tourists were beating the odds, spending an average of 12 nights in Tanzania in 2017, according to the report.

According to the survey, most of the US tourists were aged between 65 and above and mostly came for volunteering, scientific and academic activities, meetings and conferences as well as leisure and holidays.

The survey shows that Tanzania’s tourism earnings rose by 5.6 per cent to $2.25 billion in 2017, from $2.13 billion recorded in 2016.

Out of the total amount earned in 2017, $1.91 billion was from visitors who came for leisure and holidays, which accounted for 84.9 per cent.

Again, the report shows that the number of international tourist arrivals has also increased to 1.32 million from 1.28 million visitors recorded in 2016.