How opportunity to cash in from beaches goes begging

Dar es Salaam. The government has failed to fully utilise the potential of beaches to accelerate tourism along the coast, according to the Controller and Auditor General (CAG).

Tanzania has at least 1,424 kilometres of coastline that hold potential for tourism activities such as swimming, snorkelling, scuba diving, water sports and sunbathing.

However, the CAG’s latest audit report notes that despite the fact that 79 areas were identified as potential beach areas, 71 were not developed and utilised for tourism in the country.

Instead, the areas were being utilised for other purposes including small-scale farming (cashew nuts and coconuts), livestock keeping, and salt harvesting activities among others.

“This is despite the identified potential beach areas having good features for beach tourism,” the report says.

“Underutilising beach areas for coastal tourism denied the government the ability to generate revenue from beach tourism. Our analysis of revenue generated by the sample beaches indicated revenue collection from the sampled beaches had not increased significantly.”

The report cites an example of two out of five beaches along the marine parks areas, namely Mnazi Bay Ruvuma Estuary and Marine Park Tanga Coelacanth, where revenue collected decreased from Sh7.2 million and Sh30.96 million in 2019/20 to Sh5.77 million and Sh24.51 million in 2022/23, respectively.

The CAG’s report further reveals the ineffective utilisation of available beaches in the country was attributed lack of management and promotion of beaches by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, Marine Parks and Reserves Unit (MPRU), and President’s Office, Regional Administration and Local Government (PO-RALG).

According to the report, the Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB) was more focused on wild animals and cultural tourism, paying little attention to the beaches.

The audit notes that during 2020/21 and 2021/22, all planned activities on beach and cruise ship tourism development in the potential areas and strengthening publicity of new tourism products were not implemented.

The audit also found that PO-RALG did not have specific plans for the management of beaches in the country. For the case of MPRU, the audit revealed that there were also inadequacies in the strategies and plans to facilitate the development of beaches.

Hotels Association of Tanzania (HAT) executive director Kennedy Edward said the beaches hold significant potential for economic growth.

He emphasised the government should adopt a strategic approach for land use by designating specific areas for tourism and related activities.

Mr Edward highlighted the current lack of standardised regulations governing beach areas, which are primarily under the authority of the PO-RALG, noting the disparities in guidelines between regions, pose challenges for investors.

“I suggest similar to the management of national parks, there should also be an institution tasked with overseeing the beaches within the tourism sector. It’s essential to recognise that not the entire area can be solely allocated for tourism; other activities such as fishing and animal husbandry must also continue. By doing so, there will be one guide and thus attracting investors.”

Mr Edward added that enhancing beach infrastructure and amenities could extend tourists’ stays, bolstering the economy and increasing foreign currency inflows.

He said such system will in turn stimulate competition among beach destinations, offering a wider array of options for tourists and further driving economic growth.