Speaking during the second annual
hospitality roundtable conference in Dar es Salaam, the Permanent
Secretary in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, Dr Adelhem
Meru, said comparing to neighbouring Kenya, the country lags behind in
hotel investments.
“As a government, our duty is to create
better environment for investment as there are many opportunities
available as hotel investment in Tanzania has been moving at a snails
pace, derailing tourism development in terms of visitors arrivals,” said
Dr Meru.
Dr Meru further said the business
community should be challenged to benefit from tourist attractions that
are available within the country as well as invest more money in hotel
facilities.
According to him the Tourism Master Plan
released in 2002 stated that the total room capacity was estimated at
10,020 of which only about 5,000 were of international standard and
today the number has increased to 28,410 rooms.
The PS said the increase in capacity was
mainly due to increased investments in the sector, construction of new
hotels and lodges as well as extensions and upgrading of hospitality
infrastructure.
Dr Meru said the issue of hotel
accommodation was very crucial to Tanzania as tourism survey reports
reveals that more than 90 per cent of international tourists visiting
the country stay in good hotels while the remaining 10 per cent are
assumed to be staying with friends and families.
He supplemented that success will only
come if both the private sector and government put their hands together
to push forward the Tanzanian tourism agenda with a view of making the
country an investment destination of choice.
The travel and tourism industry
competitiveness report issued by the World Economic Forum this year
outlined that Tanzania ranks seven out 141 nations for its abundant
natural resources.
However, the index also illustrates the
need to uplift infrastructure and business environment in order to
establish overall industry competitiveness.
Stakeholders on Monday gathered to
foster the growth of a sustainable industry by offering its delegates,
speakers and exhibitors networking and knowledge sharing opportunities
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