Arusha. With relaxation of travel restrictions by some countries abroad, Tanzania can win back its tourism market, currently battered by Covid-19.
The government will soon roll out plans to revive the once robust sector of the economy which is much dependent on the foreign visitors.
“The impact of the novel coronavirus is monumental but we can still win back the market,” affirmed Prof Adolf Mkenda, the permanent secretary in the Natural Resources and Tourism ministry.
He said the government was confident with the plans prepared by experts from the University of Dar es Salaam to forestall collapse of the industry heavily impacted by Covid-19.
Tourism,the leading foreign exchange earner for the economy, raked in $2.5 billion (Sh.5.7 trillion) last year, according to official statistic.
The government had projected to raise the number of tourists to two million this year,but is now feared the figure would drop to 437,000 due to pandemic.
Prof Mkenda could not reveal the contents of the plan but insisted they would be made public once agreed upon by the key players of the industry.
Nevertheless, he said the government would rely on the private sector in the revival efforts. Tourism accounts for 17.6 per cent of Tanzania’s GDP.
“We will work closely with the private sector,”he told a hastily convened meeting of the stakeholders to discuss how to minimize impacts of Covid-19.
Ms Nuru-Lisa Karamagi, the CEO of Hotel Keepers Association of Tanzania (HKAT), called for inter-ministerial cooperation to save the key economic sector.
“Let us address the impact of Covid-19 for our safety but also let us put in gear different strategies to save the sector,” she pointed out.
The board chairman of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA), Prof Abiud Kaswamila, said the world famous site has been hard hit by the outbreak of the virus.
For instance, visitors dropped from at least 2,000 per day early this year to only 500 from March 19, a few days after Tanzania reported its first confirmed Covid-19 case.
“Even the number of domestic tourists has sharply dropped,” he said, proposing establishment of a special fund for the sector to cater for such emergencies.
A mandatory quarantine for visitors to Tanzania as a measure against the spread of Covid-19 was on spotlight during the two-day talks which started yesterday.
Natural Resources and Tourism minister Hamisi Kigwangalla hinted the measure (quarantine) can be counter productive to recovery plans to woo back the foreign tourists.
“Does it make sense to continue with it when the disease is in the community?” he asked, noting that with Covid-19 already in the community,detention of incoming visitors would not halt the spread.
