- Legacy of the Arusha Manifesto
TANZANIA: TANZANIA has long been renown as a ‘Safari Country’, endowed with abundant wildlife and breathtaking natural beauty.
This reputation can be traced back to 1961 when the nation’s founding father, the late Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere, signed the Arusha Manifesto.
In this historic document, he underscored the importance of wildlife conservation, emphasising its role in Africa’s natural heritage and the livelihood of future generations.
Quoting from the Manifesto
“The survival of wildlife is a matter of grave concern to all of us in Africa… In accepting the trusteeship of our wildlife, we solemnly declare that we will do everything in our power to make sure that our children’s grandchildren will be able to enjoy this precious inheritance.
“The conservation of wildlife and wild places calls for specialist knowledge, trained manpower and money and we look to other nations to co-operate in this important task – the success or failure of which not only affects the Continent of Africa but the rest of the world as well.”
Expanding conservation efforts
Six decades later, Tanzania proudly safeguards 32.5 per cent of its land area under various forms of protection. This includes 21 National Parks, 26 Game Reserves, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and numerous forest and bee reserves.
Tourism growth Tourism encompasses travelling and overnight stays for leisure, business and other purposes. At independence, both Tanganyika and Zanzibar inherited limited tourism infrastructure from their colonial administrations.
Hotels were scarce and skilled manpower was lacking. In response, the government took bold steps. In 1964, the National Development Corporation (NDC) was given the function to acquire, build and manage tourist hotels.
Their operations later delegated to a British firm called Hallmark Hotels (Tanzania) Ltd. By 1969, the Hallmark Hotels started a school which evolved into today’s National College of Tourism.
The era of Ujamaa and state ownership
Between 1967 and mid1980s, Tanzania adopted socialist policies under the banner of ‘Ujamaa’ (communal living) and ‘Kujitegemea’ (self-reliance).
During the period, major businesses were owned by the State. Over the years the number of government hotels increased and were managed through different firms and contracts.
In 1969, the Tanzania Tourist Corporation (TTC) was established to manage state-owned hotels, market tourism and provide travel services, including safaris.
Major infrastructure developments, such as the construction of Kilimanjaro International Airport (inaugurated in 1971), laid the foundation for future growth.
Transition to a free market economy
After the mid-1980s, Tanzania embraced economic reforms, transitioning to a free-market economy.
Loss making public enterprises were privatised. The Tanzania tourist corporation was disbanded and Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB) was established in 1992 to focus on marketing and promotion. Eventually, government owned hotels were privatised. By 1996, international arrivals reached 326,000 and increased to 501,000 in 2000.
Tourism revenue doubled from 322 to 739 million US dollars in the same period.
Tourism Policy and Master Planning
To guide growth, the first National Tourism Policy was adopted in 1991 and reviewed in 1999. In the policy there is a general objective to attract one million (1,000,000) tourists by the year 2010 and another objective is to increase the role of private sector in tourism development.
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Notable policy strategies were to develop infrastructure and improve accessibility to tourism attractions, enhance quality control, identify target markets and promote Tanzania as a leading destination for wildlife viewing and hunting expeditions as well as designing environmentally friendly tourism programmes.
To affect the implementation of the tourism policy, The Integrated Tourism Master Plan was adopted in 2002.
The Plan emphasised the development of tourism products capable of attracting “low volume, high yield” segment of international tourist to spend their entire holiday trips in Tanzania.
The emphasis was to make Tanzania a main single destination and not “an addon itinerary” from a competing neighbour country. In addition, the plan concentrated mainly in areas of improving knowledge and skills, attracting investment capital, enhancing and expanding the tourism product and improving service standards.
Regulatory advances and collaboration
The expanding tourism sector required the legislation to regulate it.
The Tourism Act, 2008 repealed the Hotel Act and the Tourists Agents Licensing Act. In the new Act there is a section that requires a person or company that wants to conduct a tourism business in Tanzania, to be registered and have an office in the country.
Additionally, the Act has set aside the business of travel agency, mountain climbing or trekking, tour guiding and car rental solely for Tanzania citizens. Collaboration between institutions on Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar has been enhanced over the years.
On the government side, the Zanzibar Commission for Tourism (ZCT) has been working closely with the Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB) and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism on the mainland.
On the other hand, these government institutions have been involving and cooperating with private sector associations on both sides of the union.
Such private institutions include Zanzibar Association of Tourism Investors (ZATI) and Zanzibar Association of Tour Operators (ZATO) from the isles.
On the mainland the Tourism Confederation of Tanzania (TCT), Tanzania Hunting Operators Association (TAHOA) and Tanzania Association of Tour Operators (TATO) have been more active.
The main agenda in these partnerships has been related to matters of marketing and promotion. Not so long time ago, Tanzania was branded as ‘The land of Kilimanjaro, Zanzibar and Serengeti’.
The efforts from both the public and private sector showed remarkable results. New international airlines entered the Tanzania market and investors increased accommodation facilities with international brands.
Packages for international tourists that combine a safari on the mainland and beach tourism in Zanzibar increasingly became popular.
Tanzania crossed the milestone of receiving one million international visitors in 2012 when 1,077,000 toured the country and earnings reached 1.7 billion US dollars. By 2019 the country was receiving 1.5 million tourists and tourism receipts reached 2.6 billion US dollars.
Tourism milestones and COVID-19 recovery
The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 led to a sharp decline in arrivals and earnings.
Number of arrivals plummeted to 621,000 and receipts dropped to 715 million US dollars. Remarkably, by 2023, the nation rebounded, hosting 1.8 million visitors with receipts of 3.4 billion US dollars.
Leadership and Vision
Dr Samia Suluhu Hassan, President of the United Republic of Tanzania, played a pivotal role in Tanzania’s tourism recovery and growth. Her ‘4Rs’ philosophy Reconciliation, Resilience, Reform and Rebuilding stimulated rapid economic and social development in the country.
Dr Samia, instilled a new spirit of promoting tourism attractions including the programme of ‘Tanzania – the Royal Tour’.
Dr Samia set aside time of eight days out of office to feature in a documentary film as a lead tour guide for Tanzania’s tourist attractions.
Additionally, President Samia Suluhu Hassan, together with Dr Hussein Ali Mwinyi, President of Zanzibar and Chairman of the Revolutionary Council, have participated as key stars in another documentary film known as ‘Amazing Tanzania’.
These documentaries showcased the country’s attractions to a targeted global audience. Her Excellency, the President also prioritised infrastructure projects critical to tourism, including the Julius Nyerere Hydroelectric Power Plant; the SGR Railway; the Busisi Bridge; alongside the revival of the National Airline-ATCL; improvements in ground, marine and air transport; health and communication services.
Bright future for Tanzania’s tourism
With strong leadership, strategic investments and collaboration between public and private sectors, Tanzania has been named as Africa’s leading tourism destination and it is well on its way to becoming a leading global tourism destination.
As international arrivals are projected to surpass two million in 2024, the future of Tanzania’s tourism industry shines brightly, reflecting decades of resilience and visionary planning.
● The author, Ibrahim A Mussa (Msc International Tourism Management), is a retired civil servant.
This post was originally published on here
