Dar es Salaam — The government is looking into ways of improving tourism and hospitality industries.
For the goal to be achieved, it will hold talks with stakeholders to identify challenges and seek ways of solving them.
The talks which
will take place today and tomorrow in Arusha will involve public and
private-sector players followed by the Hotels Association of Tanzania
(Hat) annual general meeting which will be officiated at by Natural
Resources and Tourism minister Jumanne Maghembe.
"We are thrilled
that the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism has initiated these
sessions, which give the private sector a chance to directly engage with
the government," said Hat chief executive officer Lathifa Sykes.
Topics in the
working sessions include an update on the Tourism Policy 1991, Tourism
Act 2008 and its regulations, work permits for non-Tanzanian citizens
and solutions to changes in the law regarding work permits and
addressing the industry skills gap. The environment will also feature
during the sessions. That will include the demolition of tourism
facilities located less than 60 metres from water sources.
"Tourism is number
one foreign exchange earner for Tanzania. The potential of the sector is
great but wanton destruction of natural resources, the skills gap and
the restrictive labour laws which prevent international experts sharing
knowledge are hampering the industry's development," said the executive
director of the Tanzania Confederation of Tourism, Mr Richard Rugimbana.
"The multiplicity
of taxes and levies, incoherent policies and regulations impact
negatively on the business environment and hinder investments and growth
of the industry," he said.
The sector's
tourism earnings jumped from $1,853 million (Sh3.7 trillion) in 2013 to
$2,006 million (Sh4.01 trillion) in 2014. That represented an 8.2 per
cent increase in the same period, according to the government's report
released last month
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