Jovago’s Interview with the Executive Secretary of Tourism Confederation of Tanzania (TCT), Mr Richard Rugimbana

Dar es Salaam, January, 2016 - Over the last two years the hospitality industry has experienced the advancement in technology and a shift in marketing predominance, customer preference and management structure. To find out the insights, JovagoTanzania has done an interview with the Executive Secretary of Tourism Confederation of Tanzania (TCT) Mr Richard Rugimbana (pictured) that would be more helpful for 2016 master plans on the sector.

 JOVAGO: What is the outlook for the hospitality industry in terms of market predominance, the impact of technology and the shift in management structures?

R.R: Tanzania’s hospitality sector is still in its infancy but growing rapidly to serve both domestic and foreign guests. At present, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism’s master plan has a goal of attracting 2 Million arrivals by 2017.  Greater emphasis will be placed on attracting tourists from other African countries in addition to established international market such as the United States and United Kingdom. At present there are a limited number of accommodation offering with global brand names though we have prestigious names such as Singita Grumeti, Hyatt, Ramada, Sopa and Serena etc. Manpower is still a challenge but we are building the capacity of young Tanzanians to take over managerial roles in the near future

JOVAGO: Are there any trends in customer preferences?

R.R: Yes many desire or looking for memorable holidays. Tanzania has a lot to offer for travelers although with the rise of internet penetration free WIFI is an essential need. However the most import thing is a quality services from the workers.

JOVAGO: Is there any difference in challenges when developing a hotel group chain as opposed to a stand-alone brand?

R.R: Yes it is clear that brand names have an advantage based on recognition although new entrants are also offering competition, especially in terms of price and quality of services. New ‘local’ hotels are also offering improved amenities to attract foreign and domestic tourists. 

 About Jovago

Jovago.com is an online hotel booking service with offices in Lagos (Nigeria), Nairobi (Kenya), Dakar (Senegal) and Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) founded by Africa Internet Group and has MTN and Millicom as its investors. Jovago.com, Africa’s No.1 booking portal, facilitates the booking process for its users to provide them with the best hotel booking experience with fast, transparent and easy-to-use services. Jovago.com has over 25,000 local hotel listings across Africa and over 200,000 hotels around the world.