Dar es Salaam:
The hotel industry in Tanzania has been hit hard by the ongoing power
crisis, says a statement issued by Hotel Association Tanzania (HAT)
today (27th July 2011) in Dar es Salaam.
According to Damasi Mfugale, Chairperson, Hotel Association Tanzania,
hoteliers’ long term goals have been thrown into disarray by the power
crisis.
“The hotel industry, just like the rest of the production sector has
been hurt in one way or the other by the power crisis,” he said
pointing out how the industry has been hit hard.
Mfugale said that power shedding was a safety risk, especially at
night, adding that in case of fire systems failure, it would be a
disaster in the making.
He lamented that power shedding was damaging the image of tourism in
Tanzania. “Visitors don’t appreciate traffic lights not working,
elevators breakdowns, and no lights at hotel room. Sometimes visitors
can’t even have their laundry done! And remember it takes years to
rebuild a damaged image,” he said.
HAT chair, who is also a leading city hotelier said, the power crisis
was hurting subsidiary operations like laundry and dry cleaning
services as well as putting staffs through tremendous problems, with
no power at home or work.
Mfugale said: “It has also increased the cost of operation for all:
generators making overtime; TANESCO bill is still the same, even with
less power supplied! Available studies indicate that the
administrative costs of doing business for the Tanzanian tourism
sector including hotel industry exceed Tsh. 1.1 billion per year. The
power crisis is likely to double or triple this cost.”
He said HAT was pleading with the policy makers as to do what has to
be done without delay to rescue the situation.
He said, HAT, representing about 80 hotel locations in the Mainland,
appreciates what the government is doing to reverse the situation.
“We are pleading with the government to consider the following two
requests, which can go a long way to mitigate the crisis for the hotel
industry. First, TANESCO should come up with a power rationing
schedule that allows generators time to rest i.e. power cuts of max. 6
hours and a schedule that is reliable, so that companies can plan
properly for maintenance etc to reduce the risk of a major catastrophe
happening. Secondly, the government should consider a tax relief on
fuel of at least 20% so that the extra costs that are currently being
made can be reclaimed, even if it is for a limited period until the
crisis is over, he said.
He also disclosed that due to the power crisis, many hotels expect to
register huge losses this year, which does not auger well with the
economic prospects for the country. “Tax authorities, must be well
aware of this fact from the word go,”he said.
If the crisis continues, it might even force some investors out. In
fact, the government should be aware that the longer the crisis
continues, the more it will hurt the tourism industry and hotels in
particular, he said.
According to him, Tanzania is a great country, with huge potential for
tourism and hotel industry. For it to grow there is need to check the
costs of doing business, which at the moment is impeding the sector’s
growth.
The hotel industry is tourism’s cycle biggest employer with
contributions to national GDP lumped together with tourism standing
over 16 per cent per annum.
At the same time, hotels and tourism industries ranks as the second
highest foreign exchange earner after agriculture. To say the least,
this is an industry that needs to be natured at all cost considering
Tanzania’s natural gifts of nature in attracting tourists.
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Press release
Issued by Damasi Mfugale, Chairperson, Hotel Association Tanzania (HAT)
Wednesday, 27th July 2011
Dar es Salaam
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For more information
–
Lidwien Appels, Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Hotel Association Tanzania (HAT)
T: +255 (0) 22 260 2440
Plot No. 1124
Chole Road, Masaki
PO Box 23089
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
email: ceo@hat-tz.org