Tanzania: Govt to Work With Researchers, Academics to Boost Tourism

The government will continue working with researchers and academicians in order to identify opportunities and new products in tourism to boost the country's economy.

Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, Major Gen Gaudence Milanzi said this during the closing of the International Conference on Tourism and Hospitality organized by the Open University of Tanzania (OUT) in Dar es Salaam.

He said the conference has been fruitful because researchers, academicians and tourism stakeholders from inside and outside the country discussed the challenges facing the sector. "This conference should be the beginning of others in the near future so as to have more productive ideas on how we can improve the tourism and hospitality industry," said Major Gen Milanzi.

He said currently the government has been working to strengthen security in the country as one amongst the major factors that will attract more tourists. He, however, urged Tanzanians to be positive on the implementation of the Value Added Tax (VAT) in tourism and hospitality industry and that if well implemented will help to increase the government revenue.

Presenting the resolutions of the conference, a lecturer from the Open University of Tanzania, Dr Shogo Mlozi, said the government should use experts in the sector through researches which might provide solutions to the sustainability of the sector.

"The government should think of investing in development research tourism for to boost the country's economy," said Dr Mlozi. OUT Vice-Chancellor Prof Elifas Bisanda pointed out that tourism faces challenges whereby Tanzanians are not well informed on how to handle tourists in terms of provision of good services, situation which has negative impact on the sector.

"For example, a tourist or a foreigner cannot be happy when told that the food is not ready, and even after waiting for some hours," he explained. He advocated for public education on handling tourists to enable them become good ambassadors to their home countries.