SafariLands.org: Hotels: Pospects of Tanzania tourism bright, says Bagamoyo hotelier

Beach Holidays in Tanzania

Highlights
- Paradise to become a chain of hotels
- Tourism has gone down in Kenya
- Tanzania is an emerging market
- Investors have put Bagamoyo on the tourism map
- The country has ample room for further investment

QUESTION: Briefly outline your major milestones in the last 10 years, what have been your major achievements so far?

ANSWER: We have enjoyed tremendous achievements in the 10 years of our existence and these include transforming the business from being a 32-room property to one with 95 rooms of international standards. Paradise Holiday Resort caters for both local and international visitors and it is one of the prime tourism facilities along the coast and in the country.

The hotel has grown to become very prominent, in the local hospitality industry. We also have other properties in the country including City Garden restaurants and Dar es International Conference Centre. And we are the managers of East Africa Hotel in Arusha.

Q. Any plans to expand the business?
Our ambition is to grow and become a chain of hotels in Tanzania and outside the country. We intend to go beyond Bagamoyo. We are looking at having properties in southern Tanzania, Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar.

A. When do you plan to start, and what's the time frame?
A. Implementing these plans will start with the opening of Paradise City Hotel next month at the Benjamin William Mkapa Pension Tower, formerly known as the Mafuta House.

Oar next project is an exclusively up market 20-room tented camp that will trade as Selous River Camp at the Selous National Park.
If all goes according to our plans, the camp will open for business in December this year.

In Zanzibar we are looking at an 80-room property that might be operational by the end of next year.

Q. And how much is earmarked for these investments?
A. $2.5 million capital investment for the first two projects, plus the Sh3,6 million we invested in Paradise Holiday Resort, will make our total investment in the hotel business over Sb.6 billion. Ours is family business, so financing of the projects comes from various sources, including the savings we have been making.

Q. What prompted you to invest in Tanzania and not Kenya, and specifically why choose Bagamoyo?

A. The tourism industry has gone down in the few years in Kenya, although it is an industry that has been there for the last 20-25 years. We then felt we should invest in a country like Tanzania with upcoming opportunities rather that in a mature market. The country is an emerging market in tourism with vast resources and huge potential for growth largely due to the untouched attractions across the country.

Bagamoyo is a sleeping tourism giant that we have vowed to awaken. The district has the requisite resources to play a strategic role in tourism development in the country. With that in mind, we decided to make it the springboard of our business in Tanzania, but the vision of our family business is to invest in all other parts of the country that have commercial potential. In fact, Paradise Holiday Resort has played a key role in promoting destination Bagamoyo.

Q. How do you compare Bagamoyo, as a tourist destination, then and now? How much tourism potential is available?

A. We have been part and parcel of the growth of Bagamoyo as a tourist destination, as well as having been a part of the advancement of the tourism industry in the country. In 199S, when we set up shop here, there were only two tourist hotels with 70 bedrooms and the infrastructure was in a. very poor state. Today, the number has increased to eight, classic hotels. Also a lot of other things, including roads have improved a lot.

Together with other investors, we have put Bagamoyo on the map of Tanzania and world tourism. It is an emerging market whose competitive edge includes unspoilt beaches, cultural monuments, historical sites and wildlife, which is a rare mix to be found in any one place.

Q. What is your advice to Tanzania's prospective investors in and outside the country?

A. There is still a Lot of room to invest in the tourism industry in the country. The potential is there. Some say Tanzania is an expensive destination. I don't know what contributes the most to that, whether the cost of flying here or the cost of hotels. Having said that let me note that there is a lot of room for growth.

I would definitely suggest to them to come and invest now, to take advantage of such development potential. At the same time they should undergo necessary market feasibility studies of the areas in which they are looking forward to invest Tanzania is a very big country. One only needs to decide whether to invest in Zanzibar or Dar es Salaam, in wildlife or beaches. Currently, it seems not all investors do adequate feasibility studies. Some of the emerging hotels, for example, make you wonder what their target market is.