Tourism

Tanzania’s tourism industry is expected to be among one of the world’s fastest growing over the next decade. With 1.28m tourist arrivals in 2016, the country is already one of the most-visited destinations in sub-Saharan Africa, and attractions such as the Serengeti National Park and Zanzibar have an increasingly prominent global profile. The government aims to attract 3m annual visitors by 2022, and is in the process of drawing up the first new national tourism strategy in nearly two decades, which is expected to include a focus on high-value segments and infrastructure development. Private investment in hotels and resorts is driving growth, while government infrastructure investment is opening up new areas of the country to tourism. However, the industry continues to face challenges, including the recent imposition of value-added tax and the effects of austerity on business demand. This chapter contains an interview with Nura-Lisa Karamagi, CEO, Hotels Association of Tanzania.