TZW
According to the 2017 International Visitors’ Exit Survey Draft Report released in Dar es Salaam yesterday, the tourism sector has continually recorded improved performance with visitor arrivals reaching 1,327,143 in 2017, over three per cent higher than the 1,284,279 arrivals in 2016.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism Major General Gaudence Milanzi said the sector performance was attributed to government efforts to promote the country as a unique tourist destination, which is richly endowed with tourism products, especially wildlife and Zanzibar’s white sand beaches.
In 2017, the ministry in collaboration with Bank of Tanzania (BoT), National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Immigration Department and Zanzibar Commission for Tourism (ZCT) conducted an international visitors’ exit survey to compile the national accounts and balance payments statistics and aid planning and policy formulation.
The survey according to Major General Milanzi covered eight major departure points, including Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA), Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA), Abeid Amani Karume International Airport (AAKIA), Namanga, Manyovu, Tunduma, Horohoro and Mutukula border points.
The rise in tourists arriving in the country was also attributed to the global economic recovery and robust demand from traditional and emerging source markets, according to NBS Director General, Dr Albina Chuwa.
According to the findings of the draft report, the overall average expenditure per person every night in 2017 stood at 161 US dollars (366,275/- ) compared to 178 dollars (404,950/-) in 2016. “
Lower average expenditure is associated with significant number of low spending visitors from the neighbouring countries mainly coming to visit friends and relatives,’’ Mr Milanzi said, adding that average expenditure for visitors who came under package tour arrangement was 411 US dollars (935025/-) while those who used non-package tour arrangement was 136 dollars (309,400/-) per person per night.
According to the PS, the overall average expenditure for Zanzibar in 2017 was 177 dollars per person per night, up from 102 dollars in 2016. “The top 15 source markets for Tanzania in 2017 accounted for 73 per cent of the total visitors and were mainly from the United States, United Kingdom and Kenya,’’ he said.
The report further revealed that Kenya was leading in the region for having more tourists visiting the country and there was a notable increase in visitors from India, Netherlands and Switzerland whereas most visitors, aged between 24 and 44 years, came for leisure and holiday purposes.
According to the report, the main tourism activity was wildlife viewing that accounted for about 35 per cent, thanks to Tanzania’s endowment of finest wildlife resources widely known for years.
Tanzania is the only country in the world that has allocated over 25 percent of its total area for wildlife and other resources conservation and according to the report findings, visitors with high preference for wildlife came from Netherlands, United States, Switzerland, United Kingdom, France and Germany