Tanzania’s Tourism sector set for record numbers as it makes full recovery

Original Story Published by: Zephania Ubwani, www.thecitizen.co.tz
Photo Source: Courtesy of TheCitizen.co.tz

Arusha. No longer is it wishful thinking or a desired dream nowhere close to reality. Tourism, the leading sector in foreign exchange generation, is on the path to full recovery from Covid-19 impact. Between January to November last year, the number of visitors hit 1.2 million, only 300,000 short of the record 1.5 million in 2019. While the number of the visitors dropped to 620,000 in 2020 after the outbreak of the pandemic, only about 800,000 visitors were recorded for the entire 2021.

“Comparing the figures for 2021 and eleven months of 2022, there has been a 60 percent increase”, said the Natural Resources and Tourism minister, Pindi Chana.

She revealed this yesterday during the day-long and well-attended Ministerial Public Private Dialogue she chaired at a Arusha hotel. The forum was organized by the Tanzania National Business Council (TNBC) in collaboration with the ministry. A similar one took place mid last year. She said that there had been a surge of foreign tourists to leading tourism sites in the country, such as national parks. “Most of the hotels and lodges either in or close to the national parks have recorded full bookings in recent months”, she pointed out.