THE OPEN UNIVERSITY OF TANZANIA

FACULTY OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

PROGRAM:

MTMP

COURSE:

SUSTAINABLE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT

LECTURER:

MR. MICHAEL PATRICK MOSHA

NATURE OF WORK:

INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT

NAME OF STUDENT:

MALIKI .O.MOHAMED

PG 201504650

Question:

Discuss challenges towards achieving sustainable tourism in Tanzania

Introduction
Sustainable tourism can be defined as tourism that takes full account of its current and future
economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, and
the environment and host communities.
The main aims of sustainable tourism is to promote and increase economic viability, local
prosperity, employment quality, social equity, visitor fulfilment, local control and the like.
The following are the key challenges towards achieving sustainable tourism in Tanzania
Lack of sustainable tourism Certification
Although the concept of sustainable tourism is one of the most significant issues today, there is
no clear standard set of guidelines for sustainable tourism in Tanzania, and no formal system
accreditation by which green businesses can be rated (Lindsay, 2003). Its a great challenge for
sustainable tourism certification to include the complexity and apply broad standards to local
context, and it also needs effective enforcement through up to date inspections from reliable
authorities.
Poor Capacity Building
The next challenge of sustainable tourism development is capacity building in local communities
and other interest groups who should be capable with knowledge, money and skills. Generally,
capacity building in sustainable tourism development in Tanzania is run by different NGOs, and
is very short and entirely fund dependent. In order to be able to run the programs on a long-term
and autonomous basis, it should be local and community based.
Lack of Human Resource Capacity
Skilled human resource at the various levels in the sustainable tourism industry remains low
mainly because of limited government support in enhancing tourism training in public
institutions. Few private organizations have invested in sustainable tourism and hospitality
training because it is more specialized and expensive compared to other mainstream education
disciplines. Even where the human resource has been trained, it is poor quality in most cases due
to unregulated training institutions, poor training standards, and lack of a professional and

practical oriented curriculum. This in turn negatively affects the quality of service and visitor
satisfaction which is counterproductive to the development and promotion of ecotourism
Implementation Deficit in principle and guidelines of sustainable tourism
Lack of implementation has been attributed to limited government will, support and recognition
of sustainable tourism as a priority sector which needs equal attention and funding, or even more,
compared to sectors like agriculture and industrialization. Weak implementation of laws, limited
coordination and inadequate institutional capacity have translated into tourism management gaps
that have encouraged leakages from the tourism industry which in turn limit multiplier effects
Low level of community involvement
The level of community involvement in sustainable tourism is still very low. Communities often
lack awareness of the sustainable tourism resources in their area and are unable to appreciate
ecotourism as a potential vehicle for developing their area. The local government leadership has
not been skilled and empowered to guide community involvement in tourism in general and
ecotourism in particular. Communication and collaboration between communities, national and
umbrella organizations are still inadequate. Some communities are skeptical to be engaged in
tourism, based on existing wildlife-human conflicts and previous experience of failed community
based tourism projects.
Limited product development and diversification
There is still limited sustainable tourism product development especially in the ecotourism
section. Most products are still wildlife based mainly relying on wildlife/ nature safaris in
Tanzania. Inadequate efforts and funds have been dedicated to innovation and market research
with a view of diversifying ecotourism products that would increase the competitiveness of the
individual member states and the region in general.
Poor sustainable Market penetration strategies
Most member bodies in Tanzania lack aggressive sustainable marketing strategies to be able to
penetrate the international market that is highly competitive and the domestic market which has
not yet been tapped into. There is limited innovative sustainable tourism product development

which has resulted in regional countries offering similar or nearly similar products hence
competing amongst themselves and reducing their comparative advantage in the market.
Inadequate research and skills base
Research and skills development in sustainable tourism and ecotourism in particular is still
limited. Most institutions do not give high priority to sustainable tourism research hence more
attention is given to tourism teaching. On the other hand governments and research organizations
do not prioritize the funding of research in field of tourism. Skilled human resource at the
various levels in the tourism industry remains low mainly because of limited government support
in enhancing tourism training in public institutions.
Poor Participation of all Stakeholders
It was felt that planning and policy development is not carried out with much stakeholder
involvement, and that often what stakeholder participation exists, tends to be un-meaningful. So
strategies are often not implemented because they are not developed and owned locally.
Meaningful involvement would lessen some related issues, such as concerns about maintaining
authenticity of social systems, indigenous and other cultures. It was felt that planners and policy
developers should give stakeholders an opportunity to participate in non-conventional ways.
Finally the government and other tourism stakeholders should work gather and establish various
strategies that can promote sustainable tourism in Tanzania such strategies including area
protection environmental impact assessment, application of carrying capacity techniques, visitor
management techniques as well as establishing sustainable tourism certification programs.