Standing as the biggest country among the five partner member states of the East African Community (EAC), Tanzania has devoted to develop tourism aiming to become a number one tourist destination in Africa.
Covering a geographical area of 945,000 kilometres, Tanzania has devoted and protected 28 per cent of the country’s land for nature and wildlife conservation, a vital tourist product. Likewise, Tanzania has achieved an overwhelming recognition as the “Best Safari Destination in Africa”.
According to the latest global travel and tourism survey conducted by Netherlands based safari planning website, SafariBookings, Tanzania was voted the best safari country in Africa.
Despite all the efforts which the government of Tanzania is currently implementing, there is a good chance to make tourism number one foreign income earner, raising the annual 1.3 billion dollars accrued from tourism to a higher figure, also raising the annual tourist arrival of a million tourists to more visits, hence spending.
Learning from Egypt, a country with a 90-million-plus population, Tanzania could do better in tourism through concerted efforts, targeting best marketing strategies, services offered to foreign visitors, diversification of tourist products and strengthening domestic tourism.
Countdown on my recent visit to Egypt, I had learnt great lessons on which African countries could develop their tourism by designing and adopting tangible strategies, focused on raising the number of tourists and development of tourist service infrastructure.
I was among 30 African journalists who were invited by the Egyptian government for a study tour that had focused on its vast economic development. Different from Tanzania and other African countries boastful of wildlife resources, Egypt depends on historical and cultural touristic products.
Pyramids and great museums are the milestone of Egyptian tourism, apart from manufacturing, the two leading sectors for its economy. Egypt registered a 4.5 percent increase in inbound tourist numbers in 2014, with 14million tourist arrivals.
Tourism revenues also rose yearon- year by 23.6 percent, an increase of 7.5 billion dollars, up from 5.9 billion dollars in 2013.
According to Egyptian tourism authorities, the number of tourists visiting the country’s premier attractions is more than double that of the African runner-up nations such as South Africa, Morocco and Tunisia, all of which averaged between five and six million visitors annually.
Tourism is Egypt’s second most vital income generator and central to its economy. It employs over 12 percent of the entire Egyptian population.
Egypt also has a wellestablished all-inclusive leisure tourism product and this is proving to have high appeal to Egyptian travelers with 76 percent likely to consider booking an allinclusive luxury package; a figure even higher than that of respondents in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kuwait.
Key tourist attractions in Egypt include Giza pyramids, the Nile River, Biblical sites and Sea beaches of the Red sea and Mediterranean sea.
Compared with Tanzania, Egypt is not a wildlife destination country in Africa, neither nature based tourism. In Tanzania, the tourism sector currently contributes 17 percent to the country’s overall Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and is responsible for employing for about 11 percent of the country’s labour force.
Tanzania is aiming to simultaneously becoming a global leader in conservation while also increasing tourist arrivals to as many as 5 million by 2020, according to the latest official statistics released by the World Bank. In 2014, tourism had generated a total of US$1.9 billion, representing 22 per cent of the value of all exports in that period.
Despite the big size of Tanzania and its varied tourist attractions, the country still remains relatively unexplored and underdeveloped for tourism; the linkages between the sectors activities and the rest of the economy have been limited at the national level.
Compared with Egypt, Tanzania has to create some new job opportunities in proportion to the sector’s growth. The World Bank report, tourism industry could generate US$ 16 billion next decade if stringent measures are taken and implemented to raise the current annual tourist revenue.
Borrowing a leaf from Egypt, Tanzania can create enviable success as a tourist destination, by copying or learning strategies which are being applied there to market its incomparable ancient wonders like the pyramids, the sphinx, and the contents of its legendary museums and archeological sites.
But now, having sampled Egyptian hospitality at first hand, the country offers more than that. The quality of service in Egyptian tourist hotels, are a wonder to behold and which Tanzanian tourist stakeholders could emulate.
Egyptian hotel staff are well trained and equipped with knowledge which had created high level of efficiency. Tanzanian tourist service providers could borrow a leaf from Egypt’s staff.
Room occupancy is also high in Egyptian hotels due to their affordable rates. For example: A room in a five-star hotel in up-market Cairo costs 150 US dollars (about 276,000/-) a night compared to around 250 US dollars (about 460,000/-) on same facility in Dar es Salaam.
This shows that tourists will choose the best destination with affordable rates. For example: Economy class ticket on an Egyptair flight from Dar es Salaam to Cairo aboard costs around 600 US dollars (about 1,104,000/-) which is relatively cheaper compared to other airlines. Egypt has a very efficient air transport system in the region with a fleet of over 129 modern planes which connect the country locally and globally.
The Tanzanian government should see this as a challenge and take deliberate steps to revive the national airline- ATCL- which currently operates only two small planes.
Arguably, ATCL will play a key role to bring in tourists and also take them to various local destinations if it acquires more planes. By taking the best examples from Egyptian tourism, Tanzania could move hundred steps ahead.
Source : Tanzania Daily News
