Tanzania welcomed 1.8 million tourists, surpassing the pre-COVID-19 record high of 1.5 million arrivals by 37.2 percent. Gold exports also significantly increased, reaching 2.95 billion U.S. dollars, up from 2.75 billion U.S. dollars in 2022.
Tanzania’s tourism industry is making a remarkable comeback nearly four years after its revenues plummeted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.The latest data from the Bank of Tanzania reveals that tourism has staged an impressive recovery, contributing over 3 billion dollars to foreign exchange earnings in 2023, compared to $1.95 billion in July 2022.The recovery in the tourism sector is highlighted by a 37.2% increase in foreign arrivals. Experts estimate that the value of gold exports rose by +7.4% to almost 3 billion dollars in the year ending September 2023, driven by volume and price effects.
“In terms of tourist attractions we will continue advertising them and will keep coming up with new strategies to augment the number of tourists coming to the country. This will be alongside plans to increase investments in new accommodations.”
Angela Kairuki, Minister of Tourism – Tanzania
Tanzania boasts significant gold reserves and is a critical player in the global gold market. As the fourth-largest gold producer in Africa, it contributes to the country’s foreign exchange earnings and employment opportunities behind tourism with a percentage rate estimated at 25%.
“.We are in a period whereby we’ll have a lot of foreign currencies that will enable us to do imports as well as creating employment that will be impacted by the mining or tourism sector.”
Gabriel Mwan’Gonda, Economist – Tanzania
Tanzania is emerging as one of the fastest-growing economies in Africa, with a broad-based post-Covid recovery across most sectors. For 2024, the African Development Bank estimated real GDP growth of 6.3%, up from 5.3% in 2023, thanks to the sustained recovery in tourism and the gradual stabilisation of supply and value chains.