By Zephania Ubwani
Despite being severely battered by the pandemic, the sector
recorded a 52 percent increase in the number of visitors from last January to
November .
Likewise, this led to a 69 percent rise in revenue collected
from the hospitality industry through increased arrivals between January and
October 2021.
The figures sharply contrasted the tourism arrivals and revenue
collections during same period last year during which the key economic sector
was almost brought to its knees.
This was revealed here yesterday by the Minister for Natural
Resources and Tourism, Dr Damas Ndumbaro, during the official opening of the
five-star Gran Melia hotel.
“The government’s decision to go for vaccination brought
trust to the international visitors,” he said as he narrated how Tanzania has
withered the worst storms against the pandemic.
The multi-million dollar hotel in the leafy suburb of Arusha
was officially inaugurated by President Samia Suluhu Hassan followed by lots of
merry making and a lavish party.
Dr Ndumbaro admitted that a firm decision to undertake
vaccination not only brought trust among the foreign visitors but also hope for
the local industry players.
In July this year, Tanzania which had initially played down
Covid-19 vaccines decided to vaccinate its people against the the virus
infection as per the World Health Organization (WHO) rules.
The outbreak of the pandemic in early 2020 led to a sharp
fall in tourism arrivals from slightly more than 1.5 million in 2019 to about
600,000 last year.
The fall in arrivals triggered an even more devastating drop
in revenue collections to $1.7 billion last year from an all time record of $
2.5 billion in 2019.
Other measures taken by the government to rescue the leading
foreign exchange generating sector included a Sh90billion stimulus package
issued in October.
Inaugurating the 170-room facility, President Hassan
reaffirmed the government’s commitment to put in place a conducive environment
for the investors.
These, according to her, include upgrading the tourism
-support infrastructures such as the roads, airports and hotels and lodges.
She said Tanzania has allocated 32 percent of its land
surface for conservation activities, being the national parks, game reserves,
nature forests, wetlands and the like.
She lauded the Al Awadi Investors from the Middle East who
put up the hotel which is under the management of the Spain-based Gran Melia
hotel chain
President Hassan said out of the 15 five star tourist
accommodation outfits in Tanzania, one third of them belong to the Group which
operate a total of 350 hotels in 40 countries.
Mr Gabriel Escarrer Jaume, the CEO of Grain Melia hotel
management company, said they had a total of six outfits in Tanzania and
Zanzibar, one of them being Gran Melia Arusha.
Arusha regional commissioner John Mongela said Arusha would
soon be on the radar as a tourism hub given the surging number of foreign
tourists.
His remarks were echoed by the minister for Finance and
Planning Mwigulu Nchemba who said many businesses in Arusha which were hard hit
by Covid-19 were back to life.
“Arusha is not the same as it was last year, thanks to the
recovery seen in tourism,” he said of the region which hosts nearly 80 percent
of foreign tourists each year.
Mr Walter Maeda, the regional chairman of the Tanzania
Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (TCCIA) welcomed more hotel
investments in the town, including those targeting the celebrities.
However, he said instead of constructing new hotels, the
existing ones - and there are dozens of them in Arusha -should be upgraded and
refurbished to attain the tourist class.
The opening of the facility attracted the industry captains
from within and far as well as representatives of the diplomatic missions in
the country.
It was yet another official inauguration of a leading hotel
in town after the newly built Snow Crest and refurbished Mount Meru in December
2009 and December 2010 respectively.
The two establishments, then the leading hotels in Arusha,
were opened by the then President, Mr Jakaya Kikwete.
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