TANZANIA TOURISM SECTOR SURVEY - Bank of Tanzania

FOREWORDTourism has continued to play an important role in the Tanzanian economy andis rated among the fastest growing sectors in the country. The sector has recordedimproved performance in recent years as evidenced by the increasing number oftourist arrivals from 582,807 in 2004 to 770,376 in 2008. Likewise, tourismearnings rose from USD 746.0 million in 2004 to USD 1,288.7 million in 2008.The good performance is largely attributed to the macroeconomic reforms andincreased promotion of Tanzania as a unique tourist destination.In order to sustain such performance, timely availability of accurate informationon tourism is important for policy formulation, planning and investment. Inensuring that information on tourism continues to be available, the multiinstitutional committee which consists of the Ministry of Natural Resources andTourism (MNRT), Bank of Tanzania (BOT), National Bureau of Statistics (NBS),Immigration Department and the Zanzibar Commission for Tourism (ZCT)conducted the International Visitors’ Exit Survey in 2008.The key objective of the survey was to collect up-to-date information on touristexpenditure to be used in the “Tourist Expenditure Model” for estimation ofinternational tourism receipts for compilation of National Accounts (NA) andBalance of Payments (BOP) statistics. The survey also aimed at obtaining informationthat is used for strategic planning, tourism promotion and macroeconomic policyformulation.In this regard, we are glad to introduce the 2008 Tanzania Tourism Sector Survey(TTSS) Report which provides important tourism statistics such as, tourist earnings,source markets and purposes of visit. The report also highlights some areas forimprovement like airport facilities and roads leading to the tourist attractions.It is our expectation that this report will be a useful source of information to policymakers, investors, academicians and other stakeholders in the tourism industry.Hon. Shamsa Mwangunga (MP)MinisterMinistry of Natural Resources and TourismProf. Benno NduluGovernorBank of Tanzaniav