Dar es Salaam,
12th March 2012: The Hotels Association
of Tanzania (HAT) has secured funding from the Business Environment
Strengthening in Tanzania – Advocacy Component (BEST-AC) – to undertake a
two-month study, which will consider the legal and economic impacts of tourism
licensing in the country and highlight the challenges local tourist industry
professionals face. The licensing regime
being studied is offered at the discretion of the Tanzania Tourism Licensing
Board (TTLB) formerly known as the Tanzania Tourism Licensing Agency (TALA).
“It is vital to
review the current complex licensing regime to enable more local entrepreneurs
to become meaningful part of the tourism industry here in Tanzania,” said Mr Damasi
Mfugale, HAT Chairman, adding that
licensing fees are out of reach for a majority of people in Tanzania
wishing to make their way in tourism.
HAT CEO Ms Lidwien
Appels, said the issue of TTLB licensing needs adequate attention, and decision
makers need to be aware of its legal and economic implications. “Some tourism
operators are licensed while others are not,” she said.“Some have applied for a
tourism license and been denied with no explanation. All this leaves the
situation unclear for tourism operators on what to do.”
According to
HAT, the lack of clarity on TTLB licensing, as described in the Tourism Act
2008, has resulted in some tourism operators being charged fees that according
to them are unfair.
HAT has
contracted two consultants, a lawyer, and an economist to undertake the review,
which includes presenting a comparison with Kenya, Uganda, Botswana and
Mauritius to gauge how Tanzania’s license regime is faring.
Dr. Eve Hawa
Sinare, an advocate and corporate law consultant, will look at the legal
aspects of the licensing, its history, rationale and viability. The well-known
lawyer has considerable experience in corporate law, project finance, banking,
financial services, and tourism. She has both public and private sector
experience on the impact of legislation on doing business and was instrumental
in the preparation of the Tanzania Investment Act passed in 1997.
“Available data indicates that tourism
provides 400,000 direct jobs to Tanzanians; over 1 million Tanzanians earn
income from tourism. Between 2000 and 2007, tourism generated nearly one direct job for every additional tourist,” said
Dr. Eve Hawa Sinare. “It is a sector that can generate more jobs more quickly
than any other because tourism has
linkages to the rest of the economy. Tanzania ranks second in the world for its
natural resources, but 110 overall in its tourism competitiveness.”
“We need to
develop a strategy for growth and private-public sector marketing. We need to identify constraints and address
them promptly to remain competitive. The cost of a license, fees and levies
compliance exceed 1.1 billion per year and consumes in excess of 1,800 hours
per year to comply with administrative and regulatory procedures.” Mr. Malcolm
Toland, an experienced consultant on economic issues who has worked with
development agencies, and public and private sectors in various African
countries will look at the economic implications of current licensing. He said,
“A clear, fair and transparent licensing system is an important contributor to
a positive business environment.” Ali Mjella,
BEST-AC Deputy Project Manager, said, he expects the study to come out
with proposals that will lead to the creation of a better business environment.
The study will
involve a public awareness drive, where the media will be informed about progress and key outcomes. The results will
be presented to authorities in a joint workshop with the final outcome
submitted for inclusion in the next national budget.
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About HAT
The Hotels
Association of Tanzania (HAT) is a non-profit and membership-based organisation
that serves tourism accommodation providers
in Tanzania. HAT works closely with other associations under the
umbrella of the Tourism Confederation of Tanzania (TCT).
About BEST AC
BEST-AC is a
grant programme that assists business membership organisations to create a
better business environment. The grants enable these organisations to be
successful in their dialogue with government to change policies, laws and
regulations. BEST-AC is responsible for
the effective and efficient design, development and delivery of the Private
Sector Advocacy (PSA) Fund provided through grants from the governments of
Denmark (through Danish International Development Assistance, Danida), the
Royal Netherlands Embassy, Sweden (through the Swedish International
Development Agency, SIDA) and the United Kingdom (through the Department for
International Development, DFID). COWI Denmark management consultants manage
BEST-AC.