ARUSHA: IN a bid to boost investment and promote tourism, the government is planning to construct an ultra-modern investment facility in Arusha, specifically to simplify the business registration processes.
The Minister of State, President’s Office Planning and Investment Prof Kitila Mkumbo said yesterday during the opening of the Arusha Tourism Investment Conference that the establishment of the facility in the region will boost investments, particularly in the tourism sector.
Earlier, Arusha Regional Commissioner, Mr Paul Makonda, requested the government to make the region a center of tourism business by constructing a modern tourism one-stop center to simplify registration procedures.
In response, the minister said the government is aware of the region’s contribution to the tourism sector and that deliberate efforts are being made to boost the sector.
“We need to do something very special in the tourism business. I direct Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC) to start the process. You can start looking for the area where this center will be constructed,” he said.
He said that in order to attract more investors in the tourism sector in the region, there is a need to improve infrastructure to ensure the safe and comfortable transportation of tourists.
“In the hospitality business, kindness, quality, and affordable accommodation facilities are very important. We need to work together to ensure our goals are achieved. Our focus must be on building Arusha, with both the public and private sectors working together to make this happen,” he noted.
On her part, the Minister of Natural Resources and Tourism, Angellah Kairuki, said that the government is working hard to strengthen the hospitality industry in the country by improving accommodation facilities and infrastructure services.
She called on stakeholders to invest in the tourism sector, stating that the government is working hard to improve the business environment and create friendly policies to boost the industry.
According to CCM’s Manifesto, the government has outlined critical measures to support efforts to secure an income of 14 trillion (6 billion US dollars) from five million tourists by the year 2025.
“The Ministry’s strategy is to continue promoting tourism attractions and finding new tourist attractions, with the target to receive five million tourists by 2025,” she said.
In 2023, tourist arrivals to Tanzania increased by 24.3 percent to a record-breaking 1,808,205, up from 1,454,920 tourists in 2022, 922,692 in 2021, and 616,491 in 2020.
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The tourism sector earned the country 3.3 billion US dollars (about 8.25 trillion/-) as of December last year, thanks to the Royal Tour film starring President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
According to the Parliamentary Committee on Land, Natural Resources, and Tourism, the earnings are equivalent to 25 percent of all foreign exchange in the country.
The earnings make tourism a leading sector in foreign exchange earnings, contributing more than 20 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
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