Tanzania tourism rated 2nd in Sadc bloc

Saturday, October 19, 2019 — updated on April 10, 2021 - 2 min read

Chief Secretary John Kijazi (gesturing) is accompanied by the chairman of the Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB) of directors, Retired Judge Thomas Mihayo (left) and the minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Dr Khamis Kigwangalla, (second left) after opening the ‘Swahili International Tourism Expo’ in Dar es Salaam yesterday. PHOTO | ERICKY BONIPHACE

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South Africa tops both in tourist arrivals and earnings - thus beating other southern African states which dominated the market for so long

Arusha. Tanzania trails South Africa only in the share of the tourism market in the Southern Africa Development Community (Sadc) bloc.
South Africa tops both in the tourist arrivals and earnings, beating other southern Africa states which dominated the market for so long.
Recent statistics indicate that 13 per cent of about 24 million international arrivals to the region annually head to Tanzania.
South Africa, Africa and the bloc’s biggest economy, attracts 47 per cent to the tourists visiting the 16 nation bloc.
“South Africa is also the leading source market for tourists to Tanzania ahead of other Sadc member states,” said Mr Philip Chitaunga, a senior official in the ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism.
Last year, there were 54,000 visitors from South Africa to Tanzania, 47,000 from Zimbabwe, 45,000 (Malawi) and 30,000 from Zambia. Mr Chitaunga revealed this here on Thursday in a media brief ahead of next week’s joint meeting of Sadc’s ministers of Environment, Natural Resources and Tourism.
The five-day meeting will assess the development of the tourism, wildlife and forestry sectors as well as lay strategy for the region’s ‘Blue Economy’.
He said in 2016 tourism accounted for 8.2 per cent of total regional Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which was $56.3 billion then. In the same year, the sector and allied hospitality industry segments generated 6.3 million jobs which was 6.1 per cent of all jobs in the region.
Earnings from tourism also for 2016 amounted to $18.3 billion equivalent to 9.1 per cent of the total regional exports from Sadc.
Mr Chitaunga, who is an assistant director in the ministry’s Tourism Department, added that Tanzania was second to South Africa in both tourism arrivals and receipts.
While South Africa generated more than $2.5 billion from tourist arrivals in 2016, Tanzania recording earnings amounting to $1.7 billion. In the share of the Sadc tourism market, second-placed Tanzania is closely followed by Mauritius (10 per cent), Zimbabwe (nine per cent).
Other countries on the top of the tourism market in the bloc are Mozambique,Botswana, Madagascar, Namibia, Zambia and Lesotho.
Unlike Tanzania, Mauritius and South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia, Angola and Madagascar have bigger shared of arrivals than receipts.
Botswana and Zambia has almost equal share of tourism arrivals and earnings, according to statistics for 2016.