Extra budgetary allocations for tourist sector promotion initiatives and consolidation of diplomatic relations are among of factors that have contributed to the increased flow of tourists to Tanzania, leading to the rise of foreign exchange earnings to USD 2,156.9m (approximately 4.8tri/-) in the year ending November, 2017.
According to the latest Bank of Tanzania (BoT)’s Monthly Economic Review, in the corresponding year, November 2016, foreign exchange earnings were USD 2101.2m (approximately 4.7tri/-).
According to the BoT, the foreign exchange earnings from travel, mainly comprising receipts from tourism, have increased by more than approximately 128.8bn/- . “Foreign exchange earnings from travel, which mainly comprises receipts from tourism, rose to USD 2,156.9 million in the year ending November 2017, from USD 2,101.2 million in the year to November 2016, owing to increase in the number of tourist arrivals,
” the Central Bank’s Monthly Economic Review: Dec 2017 states. In response to the ‘Daily News’ curiosity over BoT releasing the data, the Tanzania Tourism Board (TTB) Managing Director, Ms Devota Mdachi, said an extra budgetary allocation from the government, whose figure she didn’t disclose, enabled the board to mount a vigorous media advertising drive for the country’s tourism attractions, whose outcome was a bigger flow of visitors to the country.
She elaborated that this was accomplished by visits to various local tourist sites last year, by representatives of media outlets from China and Germany who responded to invitations from TTB.
She added that, last year, the board tapped onto diplomatic opportunities by preparing promotional materials that Tanzania’s embassies abroad used to woo visitors. The renewal of diplomatic relationship between Tanzania and Israel was explained by the TTB managing director as another contributor to the welcome trend, whose immediate outcome was visits by more than 100 tourists from that country.
The TTB chief executive officer furthermore explained that foreign celebrities, including famous actor Willard Christopher, alias Will Smith, was another factor that contributed to the increase in the sector’s earnings.
“When a celebrity posts something about you on social media sites, it is easy to be known worldwide…imagine how many would know about Tanzania if Will Smith posted our tourism sites in the social media ?” she remarked.
She went further to credit social media as a crucial driver for enabling TTB to showcase various tourism sites in the country, mentioning that the modern communication technologies had boosted the number of visitors on the board’s website from 53,000 to 533,000. Apart from tourism, the secondary income account, which shows current transfers between residents and non-residents, is another area that boosted foreign exchange earnings.
The BoT report shows that the account registered a surplus of USD 414.4 million in the year ending November 2017 compared with a surplus of USD 380.1 million in the year ending November 2016.
“The improvement was mainly on account of an increase in official transfers, which recorded an annual growth of 70per cent to USD 135.0 million,” the report indicates.
Daily News
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