Tanzania Tourism rated 2nd in Sadc Bloc

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 percent of about 24 million international arrivals to the region annually head to Tanzania.

South Africa, Africa, and the bloc’s biggest economy attract 47 percent 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 a lay strategy for the region’s ‘Blue Economy’.

He said in 2016 tourism accounted for 8.2 percent 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 were 6.1 percent of all jobs in the region.

Earnings from tourism also for 2016 amounted to $18.3 billion equivalent to 9.1 percent 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 percent), Zimbabwe (nine percent).

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 have an almost equal share of tourism arrivals and earnings, according to statistics for 2016.