*Dar es Salaam: *In order to sustain development in the tourism industry,
availability of reliable tourism information for policy formulation and
decision making is crucial.
– Realizing this importance, participating institutions namely; the
Ministry of National Resources and Tourism, Bank of Tanzania, National
Bureau of Statistics, Immigration Department, the Zanzibar Commission for
Tourism and Tourism Confederation of Tanzania; agreed to conduct
international visitors’ exit surveys on annual basis in order to;
– Update information on tourist earnings for improving compilation of
National Accounts (NA) and Balance of Payments (BOP) Statistics.
– Gather information for tourism promotion and macroeconomic policy
formulation.
– The survey has been carried out annually since 2001. The 2010 survey
conducted at Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA), Kilimanjaro
International Airport (KIA), Zanzibar Airport (ZAA), Namanga (NAM),
Kasumulo and Tunduma border points for the period of two weeks from
23rdAugust to 5
th September 2010.
– Main Findings were:
· The tourism earnings grew by 8.2 percent to USD 1,254.5 million
compared to USD 1,159.8 million recorded in 2009. These earnings accrued
from 782,699 international visitor arrivals to Tanzania.
· Source markets for Tanzania’s tourists continue to be dominated
by countries from Europe and America namely Italy, United Kingdom, and USA
which, in aggregate, accounted for 43.7 percent of tourists who visited the
country in 2010.
· Most visitors came for leisure and holiday purposes and fall
within the age group of 25 – 44 years.
· Majority of visitors came under package tour arrangement because
it is well organized and consumers are able to choose from wide options
such as air tickets, accommodation, food and drinks.
· Wildlife tourism is the main activity for Tanzania tourists
reflecting the country’s wealth in National Parks and Game Reserves. Other
main activities include beach tourism and mountain climbing.
· Most visitors expressed concerns on the state of roads, airport
facilities as well as check in procedures at JNIA and Zanzibar airport.
– The 2010 International visitors’ Exit Survey report has been printed
and copies will be found in participating institutions, University of Dar
es Salaam and Planning Commission. The report will also be found in the
following websites: www.mnrt.go.tz, www.bot-tz.org,
www.zanzibartourism.net, www.nbs.go.tz and www.moha.go.tz
– It is expected that the report will be a useful source of information
to policy makers, investors, academicians and other stakeholders in the
tourism industry.