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TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN TANZANIA BEFORE AND AFTER INDEPENDENCE: SUSTAINABILITY PERSPECTIVES

Mr. Noel Biseko LwogaDepartment of History and Archaeology,

University of Dar es Salaam,P.O. Box 35050, Dar es SalaamEmail: [email protected]

ABSTRACT

This paper aimed at studying tourism development in sub-Sahara Africa from the sustainability perspective, and analyzing factors shaping tourism development in the region with a special focus on the Tanzania Mainland. The paper used documentary review, semi-structured interviews and anecdotal evidences to achieve its aim. The paper established that the evolution of tourism in Tanzania can be traced back to the ancient period of the zinj, to the era of the ancient civilization of Rhapta, the Swahili coast civilization and early inland states. However, modern tourism emerged during the colonial period and further advanced after independence. It was also found that the development of modern tourism in the country was a complex process embedded with struggles and periods of ups and downs due to social, economical and political dynamics. Some issues such as wars and political instability, economic prosperity, transport and communication technology break-through that affected global tourism development were found to influence tourism in Tanzania. In addition, in the sub-Sahara African context, colonialism, neo-colonialism, globalization and relations between developed and developing countries, conservation policies and local community concerns were found to be crucial factors shaping tourism development, particularly the adoption of sustainable tourism approach and the way it is managed. The study provides recommendations to the governments in sub-Sahara African region, tourism policy makers

and managers in the region and other tourism stakeholders particularly the private sector and local community in order to create a better future for tourism sustainability in the region.

Keywords: Origin of tourism, tourism history, tourism development, sub-Sahara African tourism, tourism development in Tanzania.

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Tourism is one of the fastest growing industries in the world (Goeldner et al., 2000). The international arrival grew from 25 million international arrivals in 1950 to 625 million arrivals in 1998 and to an estimated 806 million in 2005 (Ibid.). Tourism growth has also been fast in sub-Sahara African countries such as Tanzania which saw the rising number of tourists from 5,300 in 1947 (Ouma, 1970; Vojislav, 1972) to 867,994 in 2011 (URT, 2012). Tourism development in sub-Sahara Africa involved, together with other advancements, the major changes in tourism practices which emphasized ‘sustainable tourism’. In contrast to mass tourism which emphasized on tourism development regardless of its negative impacts, sustainable tourism concept came to ensure that tourism meets the needs of present visitors and host region while protecting and enhancing the opportunity for the future generation to meet their needs (UNWTO, 1993).

The Eastern African Journal of Hospitality, Leisure and Tourism Vol. 1 No. 2 December 2013 1

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While it is clear that sustainable tourism was a developed-world born concept that emerged out of the growing concern over the negative impacts of tourism activities to the environment and consequences of global tourism (Mowforth & Munt, 1998), its adoption in sub-Sahara African context has not been critically rationalized. Moreover, despite the emphasis on new developments of tourism in the region, the foundations, practices and crucial issues that shaped and made sustainable tourism a necessary practice in the region remain blurred. The situation has led to enormous critics to the application of the concept in sub-Sahara African countries, most of which have neither captured full potentials of their tourism resources nor reached the point of ‘mass tourism’. In this regard, sustainable tourism is seen as an obstacle to full exploitation of enormous untouched natural and cultural resources appearing at the local perspective for the sake of sustainability at the global levels. Moreover, sustainable tourism, with its environmentalism ideology is viewed as a neocolonialism tool because it disregards the local perspectives (Mowforth & Munt, 1998). In general, sustainable tourism will remain an alien concept in sub-Sahara Africa, unless tourism development in this region is critically studied to understand its evolution, nature and dynamics that necessitated the adoption of new tourism, that is, sustainable tourism.

This paper on tourism development is further motivated by the fact that the evolution of tourism in sub-Sahara Africa and the justification of its new approaches from the local perspective in sub-Sahara Africa have received limited scholarly attention (Douglas, 2004; Lwoga, 2011). Consequently, there is little understanding of the foundations and crucial issues which shaped, and still shape, tourism in the region. Tourism policy makers and managers also fail to properly and sympathetically adopt the developed world-

originated tourism approaches in the local context.

This paper, therefore, critically studies the history of tourism in sub-Sahara Africa to investigate the nature of early tourism in the region, factors shaping its development and practices in relation to the pillars of sustainable tourism with a special focus on Tanzania Mainland. The highlight on the above mentioned issues is crucial in broadening the understanding of the evolution of modern tourism and its new approaches, in particular sustainable tourism, in a once colonized and developing region of Africa. A critical understanding of tourism development in sub-Sahara Africa from a historical angle is also crucial to tourism management institutions and policy makers in making insightful decisions about the present and future development of tourism.

Firstly, the paper introduces the concept of tourism, its new approach ‘sustainable tourism’ and the methodology adopted. Secondly, it highlights on the global history of tourism and the emergence of new tourism approaches from a global perspective. Thirdly, it provides the synthesis of tourism history in sub-Sahara Africa by focusing much on Tanzania Mainland. Finally, it provides a discussion on the nature of tourism and factors influencing its growth in the country, and historical issues that provided the necessity for Tanzania to adopt the sustainable tourism approach. Conclusions are provided on how country’s tourism should be shaped and managed to properly adopt the concept of, and achieve goals of, sustainable tourism.

2.0 STUDYING TOURISM FROM THE HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

There are several approaches to the study of tourism phenomenon (Cooper, 2005). These include economical, geographical, historical,


anthropological, psychological, sociological and managerial approaches to mention but a few (Ibid.). The paper adopted the historical approach to tourism study. In this context, it is crucial to highlight the meaning of tourism and its crucial approach toward ‘sustainable tourism’ and the methodology that guided the tracing of tourism phenomenon at the global and national historical levels.

The term “tourism” firstly appeared in England’s Sporting Magazine in 1811 (Theobald, 1998). It was used to describe the activities of young male British aristocrats being educated for careers in politics, government and diplomatic services, and engaged in the earlier mentioned Grand Tour of the European continent (Leiper, 1979). In the 20th century tourism gained concern from different academicians, disciplines, practitioners and governments due to its economic importance and relation to environmental and social settings. Many scholars (Eliot, 1974; Leiper, 1979, 1983; Lickorish & Jenkins, 1997; Holloway, 1998; Theobald, 1998), and different institutions and countries have defined tourism to suite their situations. To create harmony and uniformity in tourism definition and analysis the international conference on travel and tourism statistics in 1991 was convened by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in Ottawa, Canada. Basing on the recommendations of this Ottawa Conference and the 1993 United Nations statistical conventions, the following is the basic definition of tourism: ‘the set of activities of persons traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year and whose main purpose of travel is other than the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited’. The definition is used in this paper in tracing the history and development of tourism because it is accepted and used by most developed and developing

countries including Tanzania (see the National Tourism Policy, URT, 1999).

Sustainable tourism is an important discourse to the study of tourism history. UNWTO (1993) defined sustainable tourism as ‘tourism that meets the needs of present visitors and host region while protecting and enhancing the opportunity for the future generation to meet their needs’. In general, the pillars of sustainable tourism are summarized into three components: (i) environmental sustainability which emphasizes the protection and conservation of the environment; (ii) economic sustainability where issues such as maximizing benefits from tourism, while minimizing the costs, ensuring that tourism benefits are equitably distributed to communities, stimulating local economy, have to be met, and; (iii) socio-cultural sustainability which emphasizes the minimization of negative impacts of tourism to the society and their culture (Nicholas et al, 2009). Sustainable tourism, with its three pillars, has been promoted as the best new approach to tourism development and accepted by developed and developing countries, international and national tourism organizations, the United Nations World Tourism Organization, the World Bank, and other stakeholders in tourism industry.

In studying the history of Tourism in sub-Sahara Africa, this paper focuses on Tanzania Mainland. The country (Figure 1) is located in eastern Africa and covers 947,300 km² between latitudes 1° and 12°S, and longitudes 29° and 41°E. It is one of the countries which form the East Africa Community (EAC); others include Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. The country is endowed with unique and diverse natural and cultural tourist attractions including the famous Mount Kilimanjaro, the Serengeti National Park, the Ngorongoro Crater and the Olduvai Gorge and Laetoli Footprints Sites. Currently the country has 16 national parks, 30 game


controlled areas, one conservation area, several marine parks (MNRT, 2008) and over 3,000 cultural heritage sites (Mapunda, 2007). Politically, Tanzania Mainland passed through different periods of Arabs, German and British rules. It became independent in 1961 and a republic in 1962. Later, in 1964, Tanzania joined Zanzibar to form the Republic of Tanzania. The government of that period adopted a socialism stand which was guided by the principles of self-reliance and state ownership and management of property and resources in the marketplace (Wade et al, 2001). However, in the mid 1980s, major reforms in the political and economical aspects allowed liberalization of trade and increased privatization in the economy (Ibid.).

Tourism Act of 2008 is the major tourism legislative frame in the country which has provisions for all tourism sub-sectors and legal concerns to tourism operations. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism is the leading governmental institution concerned with the formulation and implementation of tourism development policy strategies and plans, and the stimulation and promotion of private investment activities. It also regulates, promotes and facilitates tourist service provision in the country. There are conservation institutions such as the Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA) responsible for all national parks in the country, Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA) responsible for conserving the Ngorongoro area, Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute (TAWIRI) and others. Their roles are to ensure high quality product development, to enhance marketing and promotion, conservation and awareness of the products, and to ensure proper management of the resources (URT, 1999). There are tourism business owners who are clustered in what is known as the private sector. The sector has the role of developing, investing, promoting and marketing tourist products such as

accommodation facilities, provision of attractive tour packages, and many other products. Today, the private sector is well organized in trade associations such as the Tanzania Association of Tour Operators (TATO), Tanzania Association of Travel Agents (TASOTA), Hotel Association of Tanzania (HAT), Tanzania Hunting Operators Association (TAHOA), Intra-Africa Tourism and Travel Association (ITTA), Tanzania Professional Hunters Association (TPHA), Zanzibar Tourism Investors Association (ZATI), Tanzania Tour Guides Association (TTGA), Tanzania Air Operators Association (TAOA), Tourism and Hotel Professionals Association of Tanzania (THPAT) and Tanzania Hotel Schools Association (TAHOSA). All these associations are the constituent members of the umbrella organization known as the Tourism Confederation of Tanzania (TCT) which acts as a representative of the private sector.

The tourism phenomenon is a human construct which is situated in unstructured social-cultural and political contexts (Cooper, 2005). Writing its history involves unraveling its multiple realities and underlying patterns and historical events occurring from the social world (Lwoga, 2011). In constructing the history of tourism, the author was, therefore, guided by the tenets of interpretivist. He also adopted Douglas’s (2004) argument that scholars should consider social, economical and political environments that might have influenced tourism development. Questions such as how, where and why tourism evolved in a particular country must be explained in both local and global perspectives (Ibid.). Data collection involved both primary and secondary sources. Primary data collection techniques included in-depth interviews with prominent tourism experts and historians from Makerere University (Uganda), University of Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) and two Tourism Officers from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism (MNRT) in


Tanzania. Experts were asked to respond to such questions as: How did tourism start in Tanzania? What were and are key factors influencing tourism growth in the country? What were and are key challenges for the development of tourism in the country? How sustainable tourism emerged in Tanzania? Was sustainable tourism a necessary or optional development approach in the

country? The author also did content analysis and reviewed various secondary sources from scholarly journals, books, government reports, old newspapers such as The Standard in the University of Dar es Salaam library and on-line materials. In addition, his experiences of the tourism sector in Tanzania contributed in the analysis of the history of tourism.

Figure 1. A Map of TanzaniaSource: Tantravel, Vol. XVII, No. 56 (2011)

3.0 GENERAL HISTORY OF TOURISM

In general, a good literature review would provide some lights on factors responsible for the rapid growth of tourism in the world. The factors include: the introduction of tourist facilities, services and travel networks; the breakthroughs in travel and communication technologies; the growth

in trade and social movements such as religious travels; economic prosperity and introduction of paid holidays, and the increase in safety and security. There is also an agreement that issues such as political instability, wars, terrorism, economic crisis and epidemic diseases are hindrances to tourism development. It has also been noted that, globally, sustainable tourism began as an approach to counteract the negative impacts


of tourism and to contribute towards sustainable development.

Due to rapid growth and development of most sectors of economy from the 1970s, major environmental problems such as deforestation, desertification, ecosystem degradation and destruction, pollution, soil erosion to mention but a few, occurred. The World Commission for Environment and Development (WCED), as an independent commission reporting directly to the United Nations Assembly, with Gro Harlem Brundtland as chairperson, published a report entitled ‘Our Common Future’ in 1987. The report placed the concept of sustainable development at centre stage and promoted it as a vehicle for deliverance from experienced global environmental problems. It defined sustainable development as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (Goeldner et al, 2000). Tourism as one of development activities which pose serious negative impacts to the environment and the socio-cultural front had to, therefore, adopts the concept of ‘sustainability’ to its practices. Thus, the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) adopted the sustainable development approach, and merged it with tourism to form a concept known as sustainable tourism development or in short sustainable tourism. The concept was later adopted by many other countries in developed and developing countries.

4.0 HISTORY OF TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN TANZANIA

It is believed that the academic study of tourism has been a western development, and many western researchers are more comfortable working within their own cultural and social settings (Douglas, 2004). This situation has caused limited understanding of tourism history in sub-

Sahara Africa and oversimplified the history of tourism (Walton, 2009). Scholars who have talked about tourism history in Africa (such as Rodgers, 2001; Cook et al, 2006; Lubbe, 2003; and Holloway, 1998) have only focused more on events that occurred in ancient Egypt than in sub-Sahara Africa. Ouma (1970), Wade et al (2001) and Salazer (2009) also considered sub-Sahara Africa. However, they attributed the coming of tourism with Europeans. Ouma (1970) argued that Africa was a dark continent, unsafe and unsuited for tourist visits. During the colonial period, tourism was only established to cater for the needs of colonialists and their families who came for game viewing and hunting (Salazer, 2009). Wade et al (2001) explained the history of tourism in Tanzania from the period after independence while ignoring the tourism situation before independence. They analyzed this tourism market and identified the following challenges for tourism development after independence: poor transportation, accommodation and information facilities; weak internal tourism education and poorly funded tourism institutional frameworks. However, the historians Kimambo (1960) and Ehret (2002) argued that Africans participated fully in the great transformations of world history, from the first rise of agricultural ways of life to the various inventions to the growth and spread of global networks of commerce, implicitly, including tourism. This Africanist approach to African history has for long been neglected by tourism scholars. Using the Africanist approach, Lwoga (2011) attempted to trace the history of tourism in Africa. By applying historical documentary review, Lwoga (2011) noted the existence of features of travel and tourism industry in African societies before colonialism. He argued that sub-Sahara Africa and Africans played the foundational role towards the evolution of tourism in the world. It is, therefore, accepted that colonialists modernized the country’s tourism. However,


the features of tourism had already been experienced with ancient travels (Ibid.).

To systematically write about the tourism history in Tanzania, this sections is arranged in the following six sub-sections: (i) early travels in the country before colonialism, (ii) the beginning of the modern tourism: the coming of colonialists; (iii) tourism after independence: the socialist struggles and achievements; (iv) tourism under the new political and economical policies; (v) the struggle for global tourism market and sustainability, and (vi) recalling the local perspectives for sustainable tourism.

4.1 Early Travels in Tanzania Before Colonialism

Travel has existed in parts of Tanzania since the ancient period when the earliest ancestors, the hominids (such as the Zinjanthropus Boisei or the zinj discovered at the Olduvai Gorge Site), moved for subsistence purposes. Moreover, before the beginning of the Graeco-Roman period (7th century BC to 5th

century AD) which is the period attributed to the emergence of leisure tourism in Europe, there were movements of people to, and within Tanzania for tourism-like purposes. The people of Tanzania made contacts with neighbours for both peaceful and warfare purposes, for leisure, spiritual and trade with regions near and far, and for settlement expansion (Sutton, 1969). Archaeological studies suggest that during the first five centuries AD, the coast of Tanzania was occupied by the farming Bantu community who engaged in trade opportunities along the Indian Ocean (Chami, 1998). The Bantu activities were definitely embedded with travel for exploration along the coast. The flourishing settlements of the coast attracted foreigners to come and trade and even settle. The document The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (The Voyage of the Indian Ocean) written in the 100 AD as a traveller’s guide shows the

location of an ancient settlement, namely Rhapta along the coast of Tanzania (Chami, 1996). According to Chami (2006), in the first century AD, the Rhapta was an emporium. At the end of the second and third century AD, Rhapta was a metropolis (Ibid.). Travels for leisure, trade and other socio-economic and political reasons were possible. Visitors from Egypt stayed for about eight months in Rhapta (Reader, 1997). In addition, in the mid second century (around 150) AD, the Greek merchant named Diogenes had visited Rhapta (Croegaert, 1999). Such early travel phenomena were probably tourism travels in the modern sense.

Indeed, after the eighth century AD, the Bantu community started to intermingle with Islamic people, explored the new Islamic ideology and trade, expanded cultural contacts and developed the Swahili culture (Ibid.). The economic situation of the Swahili community which by 1100 to 1600 AD was using coins for trade, culminated in the great prosperity of 1400 to 1500 AD (Ibid.). Due to their economic, social and political prosperity, it is probable that some people of the Swahili community had time for leisure and travelled for various purposes such as trade, relaxation and social exchange by using sailing ships known as dhows (Plate 1). Visitors such as al-Masudi and Ibn Battuta visited the Swahili coast in the 10th and 14th

centuries respectively (Shillington, 1995). Ibn Battuta who visited Kilwa in 1331. He recounted that the sultan of Kilwa was so hospitable and caring for visitors that he reserved a special fund for entertaining them (Shillington, 1995).

During this period, other parts of sub-Sahara Africa experienced tourism-like travels or visitations. In the 14th century (in 1324/5), Mansa Musa, the ruler of the empire of Mali, and Muhammad Ture, the founder of Askiya dynasty of the Songhay Empire, visited Mecca for religious purposes (Shillington,


1995). The empire of Mali also attracted many visitors and caravans including the Berber Geographer Ibn Battuta who praised the Mali people’s hospitality and love of justice (Ibid.). This means that, by then, Africans gave hospitable welcomes to visitors and promoted safety and security in their destinations. It seems the popularity of such destinations as the Empire of Mali made them gain attention from Europeans. For instance, Leo Africanus visited Mali twice in 1510 and 1513 and noted that:

“Here are many shops of craftsmen and merchants, especially those who weave linen

and cotton cloth. To this place Barbarie [Berber] bring cloth from Europe…the inhabitants are people of a gentle and cheerful disposition, and spend a great part of the night in singing and dancing through all the streets of the city” (Shillington, 1995:105).

Thus, in contrast to Ouma’s argument of 1970 that Africa was a dark continent unsafe for travel, before the coming of the Europeans (in particular Portuguese) there were shining developments and peaceful relations between early African states and piracy-free trade zones (Shillington, 1995).

Plate 1. Dhow TransportSource: Brennan and Burton (2005)

Other parts of Tanzania are noted to have travel elements for various purposes. According to Kimambo (1969), by the 16th

century, some communities in the northeastern Tanzania, Southern Highlands and Bukoba had political systems which evolved from small chiefdoms. Travel from one place to another for settlements, political, social, ritual, and economical purposes were common (Ibid.). Traditional ways of conserving ritual sites promoted ritual or spiritual or religious travels. Thus, before the introduction of colonial conservation

approaches in the early 20th century, active custody of monuments and sites tended to focus more on those places that were held sacred by local communities (Mumma, 2009). The sacred sites included shrines, rock shelters, royal and chiefly burials, tree groves and forests, abandoned settlements, and many others. It is probable that most people in and nearby such communities traveled to pay a visit for ritual purposes to such sites. In addition, because the communities were growing and advancing in terms of political, cultural and social complexity and innovation,


some movements for leisure, exploration, trade and others apart from rituals were made (Kimambo, 1969).

In the 16th century (1506), Tanzania got visitors from Europe who came for various purposes including exploration. According to Reader (1997) the earlier mentioned Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama came to the East Africa and dealt mainly with the collection of custom duties from all traders on the Indian Ocean. The Portuguese controlled most of the East African coast from 1525 until the early 18th century when Omani Arabs regained control of the slave trade. Furthermore, Tanzania saw the incoming of Europeans as missionaries, explorers and traders before colonialism who developed their settlements and mission stations. For example, it is believed that the first exploration by the Germans into Tanganyika took place in 1846 when German missionaries Ludwig Krapf and Johannes Redmann explored the Pangani valley for two years. In 1856, the British Royal Geographical Society commissioned Richard Francis Burton and John Hannington Speke to look for the source of the Nile. Two years later, they reported Lake Ukerewe (renamed Lake Victoria after the Queen Victoria). David Livingstone explored East Africa to find navigable waterways before setting off on his crusade against slavery. In 1873, Cameron was the first European to cross Africa from east to west, from Bagamoyo on the eastern coast of Tanganyika. In addition, Elton crossed Africa from south to north, passing through Lake Nyasa and reaching central Tanganyika where he died in 1877 near Bahi swamps, west of Dodoma. Henry Morton Stanley led his expeditions for colonization purposes. He journeyed for extensive periods between 1871 and 1889. As Europeans explored inland, in the mid 19th century (1862), the Sultan of Zanzibar (Sultan Seyyid Majid) decided to develop a port south of Mzizima (later to be known as Dar es Salaam) and constructed

several architectural buildings including his palace (Sutton, 1970). Some of the early settlements and other remains are today conserved as historical sites. On the other hand, in this period, the advancing local Tanzanians and their place in tourism history were placed at a disadvantage from the times of massive slave trade. The trade caused social, local economical and psychological stress and depletion of local manpower (Shillington, 1995). Consequently, the later tourism development was highly influenced by developed countries, supranational institutions and their global political, economic and social policies than local institutional and political frameworks.

4.2 Beginning of the Modern Tourism: The Coming of Colonialists

The Tanzania Mainland was selected to be the administrative, commercial and communication centre for the German East Africa from 1891 till the British occupation in 1916. The essence of modern tourism in Tanzania as in other parts of Africa started in this period when modern tourist facilities and infrastructure were built, and leisure and adventure (hunting) tourism were promoted. Hunting tourism gained popularity and attracted many hunters who were mostly foreigners. As hunting gained its pace, the colonial administration designated areas for such activities as game reserves and formalized the conservation of natural and cultural heritage. According to Ouma (1970) the German administration stipulated game ordinances in their official Gazette Numbers 3 and 25 of 1912, and established a long list of game reserves. They also made the first collection of movable cultural heritage assets while constructing the central railway line in early 1900 (Kayombo, 2005). Although such tourism and conservation efforts were proper for future tourism development in Tanzania, they undermined local community’s values and participation. During this time, tourism


and conservation catered for the interests of the colonialists (Salazar, 2009).

The Germans also constructed administration offices, health facilities, hotels, ports, electrical power in Dar es Salaam, the central railway, the first airport at Kurasini in 1918 (it was known as Mkeja Airport) and other infrastructure. According to the Precision Air travel journal, Paa (2011), the oldest hotel facility in Tanzania was the Brown and Barratt Hotel at the site of the New Arusha Hotel in Arusha. The old hotel was constructed with two bedrooms in 1894 by the Germans and housed famous people such as the Prince of Wales. Other tourist facilities

were introduced in Dar es Salaam. These included the New Palace hotel, Chez Clo Bar nearby today’s Askari Monument, the Casino or Officer’s Mess (Survey and Mapping Department), ‘Kaiserhof’ (renamed as the New Africa Hotel built in 1906, see Plate 2), the Old Post Office (Plate 3) used as communication point, the German club (plate 4) at the site of the Court of Appea, the railway station built in 1905, Hotel Stadt (see Lwoga, 2010; Mturi, 1982; Sutton, 1970, Gibb et al. 1949), the Schultz Brewery built by Wilhelm Schultz in 1897 (Sykes and Waide, 1997), and many others.

Plate 2. Old New Africa Hotel Plate 3. Old Post during the German PeriodSource: Mascarenhas (2005) Source: Mascarenhas (2005)

Plate 4. Old German ClubCourtesy of DMHC (2009)


However, local community’s use and management of such facilities were limited. The earlier Dar es Salaam situation shows the neglect of black Africans who were placed in a low class as workers for the colonialists and Indian traders (see Brennan and Burton, 2007). For example, there were zones for German administrative-cum residential buildings (today’s Kivukoni and Magogoni areas) and a commercial zone with mostly Indians mingling with Africans and Arabs (Ibid.; Gibb et al., 1949). Such discrimination, including the earlier mentioned neglect of local communities, were the basis for today’s low community awareness about the tourism sector and the low community participation as tourists and managers of the world class tourist facilities in the country.

At the end of World War I, the Germans relinquished control over Tanzania and handled it over to the British administration. The British promulgated the Colonial Monuments Preservation Ordinance to protect earlier settlements and other cultural heritage assets in 1937. To continue the Germans’ effort of conserving movable cultural heritage, the British opened the King George V Memorial Museum (Plate 5) in 1940, today’s Dar es Salaam National Museum and House of Culture. They also made provision for the preservation of game

under preservation proclamation number 41 of 1921. This scheduled the full classification of reserves such as Kilimanjaro Reserve, Mount Meru Reserve, including Engurdoto Crater, Lake Natron Reserve, Northern Railway Reserve, Selous Game Reserve, Wami River Reserve and Mbulu Reserve. In 1941, the Serengeti plains were gazetted as a national park under the Game Ordinance of 1940. However, this ordinance was reviewed and amended to a new 1951 Game Ordinance that led to the reformation of the Serengeti National Park managed under the Tanganyika National Parks until the time of independence, that is, 1961. Despite such conservation efforts which are positively linked to environmental conservation pillar of sustainable tourism, hunting and adventurous tourism with their negative impacts to environment were highly promoted, and Tanzania saw many rich royals and high-class tourists and hunters coming for such purposes (see Chachage, 2003). In addition, the formal centralized conservation in the form of a written legal system continued to ignore local community participation and their spiritual and social concerns over the heritage. It created land-use conflicts, antagonisms, and a deep-seated resistance to conservation strategies within the hearts of local Tanzanians.

Plate 5. Old Building of Dar es Salaam Museum and House of CultureSource: Lwoga (2010)


The colonialists attempted to create a single tourist destination of East Africa (Ouma, 1970). Earlier on, after the great depression of 1923 to 1933 which halted the growth of the tourism industry, efforts to officiate and formalize travel organizations resulted in the formation of the East African Publicity Association (EAPA). However, the association did not last long due to the onset of World War II. In 1948, the East African Tourist Travel Association (EATTA) was established to, again, promote tourism in the region (Ibid.). The association became the founder member of the International Union of Official Travel Organization (IUOTO), today’s UNWTO, and made the region to comply with international conventions. Such efforts attracted the Third International Congress of African Touring which took place in Nairobi and 126 countries, companies and delegates from Africa and other parts of the world attended the congress (Ouma, 1970). Apart from publicizing the region to the world, the congress’s recommendations had a positive impact on

Tanzania’s development in transport, immigration formalities, national parks, archaeological sites and many others (ibid.).

In 1949, EATTA was elected as an allied member of the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA). By 1955 it had offices in London, North America, South Africa and Southern Rhodesia (Ouma, 1970). Although EATTA supported mostly the local Europeans socially, culturally and economically to engage in tourism business (Ranja, 2003), it strengthened the region’s and individual country’s position in global tourism. For instance, tourist flows to Tanzania increased from 5,300 in 1947 to 10,600 in 1957 (Table 1). However, about 70% of tourists to Tanzania entered the region through Nairobi (Ouma, 1970). Such regional efforts were affected by separatist movements initiated by Uganda after forming her own Tourist Advisory Board (Ibid.). Uganda was later followed by Kenya which was the first in the region to appoint a Minister for Tourism in 1958.

Table 1: Tourist Arrivals in Tanganyika Before Independence

Year No. of Tourists1947 53001948 85901949 ?1950 37201951 51201952 58301953 67001954 62101955 79301956 95001957 106001958 76301959 78801960 7530

Source: Ouma (1970); Vojislav (1972).

Despite the setback of some colonial policies, legislative and institutional frameworks in relation to local communities’ development,

local culture, local environment and economy, the colonial era formalized and framed crucial features for subsequent


heritage conservation and modern tourism sector in Tanzania. Most of the natural and cultural heritage sites, infrastructures and facilities made during the colonial period are still in use today, and others form the bases for tourist visits in the country. Furthermore, they set the basis for today’s wildlife, adventure, hunting and cultural heritage tourism. The colonial efforts of establishing a single tourist destination by combining the three countries including Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya are also attempted today. This is because tourism promotion power can be enhanced by individual efforts and a combination of unique attractions from each country.

The pitfall of the colonial modern tourism was that local communities were marginalized from the rim of management and enjoyment of the tourism sector. This situation was in contrast to the later principles of sustainable tourism which emphasize community involvement and benefits from tourism (Mowforth & Munt, 1998). It is probable that the situation caused doubts about the interests of modern tourism and conservation as they were perceived to favor and satisfy more the westerners than black Africans. Consequently, modern tourism development after independence passed through the period of struggle and resistance from local communities as shown in the next section.

4.3 Tourism after Independence: The Socialist Struggles and Achievements

Although the country noted a slight drop in the number of tourists in the year 1961 when it got its independence, and in 1964 during the Zanzibar Revolution (Table 2), generally during the 1960s and 1970s under socialist or Ujamaa policies, there were substantial achievements and tourism growth in Tanzania. The growth was influenced by presence of political will to strengthen tourism institutional and legal frameworks, and to invest in tourist facilities and infrastructure. The Tanzania National Tourist Board (TNTB) was established in 1962 (Salazer, 2009). It was followed by the Hotel Act in 1963 which provided the mandate for the creation of a Hotel Board (Wade et al., 2001). In 1964 tourism acquired a Ministerial portfolio, ‘the Ministry of Information and Tourism’. The government also created state hospitality enterprises under a variety of finance and management agreement with foreign companies. For instance, in 1965, the Kilimanjaro Hotel was opened. Later, the National Development Corporation (NDC) invested in several hotels. These included the earlier mentioned New Africa Hotel of the colonial times, Lake Manyara Hotel, New Arusha Hotel and Bahari Beach Hotel as well as several lodges in Ngorongoro Conservation Area and Serengeti National Park (Ranja, 2003). To strengthen the quality of accommodation services, the Hotel and Tourism Training Institute (HTTI) was established in 1969 to train and produce skilled manpower for the hotel industry. Consequently, tourism became the fourth largest industry in terms of foreign income earnings after coffee, cotton and sisal in 1960s (Ouma, 1970).


Table 2: Tourist Arrivals and Receipts in Tanzania, 1961 to 1980

Year No. of Visitors Receipts (USD Millions)1961 73501962 92601963 98801964 71401965 82801966 134601967 20,1801968 -1969 -1970 58,819 13.391971 68,400 13.651972 199,200 27.661973 143,500 20.501974 175,500 12.811975 155,412 9.891976 165,839 10.521977 118,000 9.001978 148,500 12.731979 78,000 16.941980 84,021 19.70

Source: Ouma (1970:27)

To improve the tourism institutional framework, the earlier TNTB was disbanded in 1969 and the Tanzanian Tourist Corporation (TTC) was formulated in 1971. TTC was tasked to develop and market Tanzania tourism products domestically and internationally. TTC also took over the NDC’s holdings and responsibilities (Ranja, 2003, Luvanga &Shitundu, 2003). This meant that the government decided to systematically control and invest heavily in tourism sector, and played a central role towards tourism development. In 1972, the Hotel Levy Act was formulated to generate funds from accommodation operators. However, hotel expansion was restricted to the TTC (Ranja, 2003) through its subsidiary Tanzania Hotel Investment Limited (TAHI) which controlled the Bahari Beach, New Africa Hotels, and several lodges. TAHI also owned a film company (Tanzania Wildlife Safari Limited), travel agency and tour operator firms (Ouma, 1970). TAHI collaborated with the Hallmark

Hotels (Tanzania) Limited where the majority shares were owned by the British Management Company known as the Hallmark Hotels Over-seas Ltd (Ranja, 2003). It should be noted that all such developments were limited to the government. This was influenced by the Ujamaa policy which did not allow private involvements in most sectors of the economy (Wade et al., 2001).

Notwithstanding the Ujamaa policy, with such developments there was a high expectation that tourism would grow further in the 1970s (Little, 1970). The government, therefore, planned and budgeted for investing substantially in tourism development. However, the plans received serious criticism from the public, led by some members of the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) Youth League of the University College of Dar es Salaam (today’s University of Dar es Salaam). The league, through The Standard newspaper and several forums, criticized the


government efforts to invest highly in modern tourism industry (Shivji, 1969). By 1973, the tourism debate in the Standard Newspaper which lasted for three months, was the first serious political debate in print in Tanzania (Shivji, 1969).

The key concerns of Tanzanians who criticized the government plans to invest in tourism were the following: (i) tourism was seen as widening the gap between rural and urban which the socialist country (Tanzania) was fighting it (Shivji, 1969); (ii) investing and developing the tourism industry was equated to reinforcing the colonial and neo-colonial social, cultural and economic relationships; (iii) the positive economic impacts of tourism could not justify its development over the theoretical analysis of its negative economic, social, moral, cultural and environmental impacts; (iv) the supporters of investing and developing tourism in the country by then rationalized their decisions basing on economic benefits regardless of social, cultural and environmental consequences (Ibid.); (v) since the success of tourism depends primarily on its being accepted in the metropolitan countries, it is one of those appendage industries which give rise to a neo-colonialist relationship and cause underdevelopment (Mahiga, 1969); (vi) tourism industry and its planners were seen as contravening the objectives of Socialism and Self-Reliance enunciated by the Arusha Declaration (Mahiga, 1969). In general, the debate was like a fight between those who opted out of tourism and its global economic connections (capitalist theorists) and socialists.

It is probable that such opposition to the tourism industry development had its roots in some of the earlier mentioned pre-colonial and colonial events and policies which undermined and neglected locals’ concerns. There was little indigenous capital for investment in tourism industry (Ranja, 2003),

and few Tanzanians were involved in tourism as entrepreneurs. It is also probable that Tanzanians understood what was highlighted by Britton (1982) and Mowforth and Munt (1998) that an international tourism industry is a product of metropolitan capitalist enterprise. The superior entrepreneurship skills, resources and commercial power of metropolitan companies enable them to dominate many tourist destinations in sub-Sahara Africa. With the concerns of the critics of tourism industry development, the government invested few funds to develop tourism facilities and infrastructures, and depressed the private and foreign ownership of tourism businesses (Wade, et al., 2001).

In the late 1970’s, with break-up of the East African Community and the closure of Kenya-Tanzania border in 1977 there was a sharp fall of the tourists from Kenya on which Tanzania depended much (Ouma, 1970). The number of foreign tourists fell from 166,000 in 1976 to around 80,000 by the end of the decade (Table 2). It was within this context that most government-owned hotels, lodges and access roads deteriorated due to a severe shortage of foreign exchange. Such a down-fall of the tourist flows was also fueled by the war against the Iddi Amin regime of 1978/1979, which led to poor economic performance of the country. Apparently, such a down-fall in the tourism industry taught the government a lesson of the risks embedded in running tourism businesses. The idea of involving and leaving tourism business to the private sector started in the early 1980s with reforms in political and economic policies as explained in the next sections.

4.4 Tourism under the New Political and Economical Policies

The country was persuaded to change its economic and political philosophy in the mid 1980s by the supranational institutions such as the World Bank and International Monetary


Fund (IMF) and some developed countries (Wade et al, 2001). The reforms led to the liberalization of trade, increased privatization of the economy and reduced monopoly of government’s intervention in tourism. This meant that the government decided to transfer responsibilities of running and managing tourism business to the private sector through business partnership. Such economic and political liberalization were implemented through the Structural Development Programme (SDP) which ended in 1989 and later, the Economic and Social Adjustment Policy (ESAP).

In contrast to the Arusha Declaration’s objective of expansion of state ownership, it was necessary for the government to off-load tourism business to the private sector as it had

already failed to achieve the objective of domestic accumulation of investment funds (Curry, 1978). This scenario shows the influence of the supranational institutions and developed countries and their policies of extending the capitalist economy and globalization in shaping African tourism. By accepting such political and economic changes, the country entered into good relation with the developed countries. It had also to accept and adhere to the interests of the developed world while hoping to benefit through loans, foreign investment and receiving more foreign tourists and currency. Indeed, tourism development and tourist flows in the country grew from 54,000 tourists in 1983 to 627,325 tourists in 1999 with the rising of foreign currency earnings rising from US$ 12 million in 1983 to US$ 733 million in 1999 (See Table 3).


Year No. of Visitors Receipts (USD Millions)

1981 92,000 21.611982 71,290 15.221983 54,000 12.811984 64,000 9.381985 81,821 10.301986 103,361 20.001987 130,851 31.051988 130,343 40.401989 137,889 60.001990 153,000 65.001991 186,800 94.731992 201,744 120.041993 230,166 146.841994 261,595 192.101995 295,312 259.441996 326,188 322.371997 359,096 392.391998 482,331 570.001999 627,325 733.28

Source: Ouma (1970:27).

In 1991, the monopoly of government operations in tourism business was completely transferred to the private sector through the first National Tourism Policy of

Tanzania. The policy emphasized the improvements of private sector participation, and led to the approval of many tourism projects (Anderson, 2010). As one of the


achievements under the policy, private sector participation in tourism improved and many tourism enterprises, in collaboration with the Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC, formerly known as the Investment Promotion Centre) were approved. Furthermore, the Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB) was established under the Tanzania Tourist Board (Amendment) Act of 1992 after the disbandment of the TTC in 1992. In 1993, TAHI became jointly owned by the Tanzania government and one of the leading hotel operators in the world, the Accor Group of France. As a result, the Accor Group became co-owner of the Novotel Mount Meru, Lobo Wildlife Lodge, Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge, Seronera Wildlife Lodge, Mafia Island Fishing Lodge and Lake Manyara Hotel. The state remained with four lodges in the northern circuit, Mt. Meru Hotel, the Mafia Island Hotel and the Kilimanjaro Hotel (Ranja, 2003; Wade et al., 2001). Consequently, there was a notable expansion and growth in travel, hospitality and leisure industries. Furthermore, the Tourism Master Plan was prepared in 1996 to provide tourism development strategies and action plans up to 2005.

4.5 Struggle for a Global Tourism Market and Sustainability

In 1998, the country reviewed the 1991 National Tourism Policy through the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism. The review was influenced by significant global and national political, economic and social changes such as the rapid development of technology and increased competition in the tourism industry. The 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development and Agenda 21 related to sustainable development also influenced the review of the 1991 tourism policy. The new tourism policy which was introduced in 1999 aimed to emphasize the promotion of the sustainable tourism that is culturally and socially acceptable, ecologically friendly, environmentally

sustainable, and economically viable (URT, 1999).

The new policy also aimed at making Tanzania a favored tourist destination, increasing international tourist flows in the country to 1.2 million tourists by 2010, and increasing tourism earnings from 16% to 25-30% by the year 2010 (URT, 1999). Consequently, four years after the publication of the reviewed policy, the National Tourism Master Plan of 1996 was updated in 2002. The plan noted the following salient features of the tourism sector in Tanzania by 2002: (i) tourism was largely concentrated in the Northern Wildlife Areas which was reaching its limits of acceptable use; (ii) the country has a wealth of natural and man-made attractions which are untapped because of poor access and infrastructure and lack of utilities; and, (iii) there were poor service standards, poor quality guides, low quality tour operators and lack of quality accommodation. The following were the strategies for tourism development provided by the plan that aimed to counteract the mentioned shortcomings: (i) improving knowledge and know-how; (ii) attracting investment capital; (iii) enhancing and expanding the tourism product; (iv) improving service standards; (v) improving access and infrastructure; (vi) improving security; (vii) creating greater market awareness; and, (viii) strengthening institutional and economic linkages (URT, 2002).

The outcomes of the new policy and strategies include: the improvement of tourism investments as the number of licensed tourism operators has grown to about 705 companies; more giant international airlines such as the Royal Dutch Line (KLM), British Airways and others increased the number of flights to Tanzania; the incoming of investor outreach programmes, such as the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA)-Swiss


Partnership Programme for Investments in Sub-Saharan Africa (MSP) with Tanzania, financed by the Swiss government. Such a programme produced several investments such as the renovation of Kilimanjaro Hotel in 2003 which was opened in 2005 as a five star hotel managed by the Kempinski brand and, today, the Hyatt (MIGA, 2005). Other

hotels such as Kunduchi Beach Resort (Plate 6), the White Sands Hotel (Plate 7) and many others were developed along the coast. Tourist flows grew from 501,669 in 2000 to 867,994 tourists in 2011 (Table 4) and receipts grew from US$ 738 Millions in 2002 to 1,353 Millions in 2011 (URT, 2012).

Plate 6. Kunduchi Beach Resort Plate 7. White Sands Hotelwww.kunduchi.com www.hotelwhitesands.com

On the other hand, the country relatively failed to achieve the earlier mentioned main pillars of sustainable tourism. From the economic sustainability point of view, the negative economic impacts such as economic leakage experienced from increasing foreign experts’ employment and importation were partially solved. A number of foreign tour operators and chain hotels [such as the Southern Sun, Holiday Inn, Protea group and many others] came to invest in Tanzania. Some of them were blamed for employing and paying higher salaries to foreigners than the majority local employees. The national carrier, the Tanzania airline (Air Tanzania) deteriorated in its performance. Tourists’ contact with local communities was noted to

be minimal, thus limited direct benefits to communities. The continual focus on wildlife tourism has also made tourists to perceive Tanzania as the add-on to their safari tours to Kenya (Wade et al., 2001). In addition, the achievement of the National Tourism Policy’s (1999) objective of receiving one million tourists by 2010 was unlikely. Instead, only 782,699 tourists were received in 2010 (Table 4). The reason for such a failure was contributed by the global financial crisis or ‘credit crunch’ of 2007 to 2009, constant terrorist threats and the little tourism marketing and promotion budgets. Nevertheless, in 2012 the country managed to achieve the 1999 policy objective of receiving one million tourists (See Table 4).


http://www.kunduchi.com/


Year No. of Visitors Receipts (USD Millions)2000 501,669 739.062001 525,000 725.002002 575,000 730.002003 576,000 731.002004 582,807 746.062005 612.754 823.052006 644,124 950.002007 719,031 1,198.762008 770,376 1,288.692009 714,367 1,159.822010 782,699 1,254,502011 867,994 1,353.292012 1,077,058 1,712,75

Source: URT (2010a; 2012)

Despite the success in promoting investments in the tourism industry, relatively few local Tanzanians own international class tourism facilities. Local communities are mainly limited to small and medium tourism enterprises. The chances for local entrepreneurs entering into the first class tourist hotel business and succeeding without partnership with transnational corporations are limited (Ranja, 2003:22). Salazar (2009) and Chachage (2007) noted that while Tanzania loses about two thirds of tourism foreign earnings, most of the high class tourism businesses such as hunting, tour operators, air travel, hotels and leisure facilities are foreign owned. Lack of capital, intense competition within the sector, seasonality of the business and language problems are key factors hindering many Tanzanians from participating in world-class tourism business (Luvanga & Shitundu, 2003). The situation reflects the weaknesses of the 1999 National Tourism Policy and 2002 Tourism Master Plan in terms of ensuring the achievement of socio-cultural and economic sustainability as pillars of sustainable tourism. The policy and master plan only focused much on promoting tourism business and foreign investments as well as

opening up new tourist destinations and increasing international tourist flows.

Although there are serious negative economic impacts of tourism, apparently the highly publicized tourism’s economic benefits have convinced the public to support its existence. Today, the locals and the public in general are probably overwhelmed by perceived economic benefits (from the statistical point of view) in such a way that there is little concern for the negative socio-economic, cultural and environmental impacts. Despite today’s public support for tourism, there are still problems related to how economic benefits are equally and equitably channeled to the local communities (Chachage, 2007).

In the environmental and socio-cultural sustainability perspectives, the growing conflicts between the community and management of protected areas, particularly when the rising needs of people conflict with the management needs to expand or create buffer zones, affect environment conservation and socio-cultural integrity. This is happening in such areas as the northern tourist circuit including Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) and Zanzibar Island where high flow of tourists and community destruction of heritage assets


hinders the achievement of environmental and socio-cultural pillars of sustainable tourism. This was to the extent that the NCA was threatened to be removed from the list of World Heritage Sites (Ihucha, 2009). In addition, poverty of local community, low livelihood and poor social services still persist in most rural areas where such tourism attractions and heritage, of world or international class, are located. In general, the achievement of sustainable tourism, that is, tourism which is culturally and socially acceptable, environmentally sustainable and economically viable, required tourism planners and policy makers to reflect such local perspectives as community participation in tourism activities, investment and management, and local community’s interests and concerns in tourism development.

4.6 Recalling the Local Perspectives for Sustainable Tourism

The idea of diversifying away from the natural resources by promoting and

developing cultural tourism (people’s tourism) in Tanzania was initiated in 1990s as a struggle to involve communities in tourism, promote socio-cultural and economic benefits to communities and minimize tourism pressure on the natural environment. A number of cultural tour operators and cultural tourism programmes grew and are practiced in the context of Community Based Tourism (CBT). By 2008, there were about 23 cultural tourism projects (Plate 8) operating in various parts of Tanzania, under the Cultural Tourism Programmes (CTPs) and coordinated by the Tanzania Tourist Board and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism. The projects received about thirty thousand visitors a year in areas where local communities organized themselves and embarked on tourism activities. Apart from the CTPs, museums and other historical and archaeological areas such as Bagamoyo, Olduvai Gorge and Laetoli, Isimila Stone Age site, Kilwa World Heritage Site and others are now developed for tourism purposes.

Plate 8. Cultural Tourism ExperienceSource: www.tanzaniaculturaltourism.com


http://www.tanzaniaculturaltourism.com/

http://www.tanzaniaculturaltourism.com/images/stories/TCTP/mulala_welcome.J

The government has also supported and provided positive environment for private, Non-Governmental Organizations and local communities to initiate and promote cultural tourism. In addition, the government has initiated Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) in national parks in order to involve local communities in management and conservation of wildlife resources. Cultural tourism has also considered the involvement, participation and empowerment of local communities, and most of the CTPs are located in villages. However, as Chachage (2003) pointed out, such community-based tourism projects will only be beneficial to local community if communities are given some form of tenure over land and tourism resources and power in decision-making. Some African countries such as Namibia have been successful to delegate wildlife resource use rights to local communities who may either use it or sub-lease to the private sector (Van der Duim, 2011).

In addition, since early 2000, there have been efforts to promote domestic tourism in the country so as to provide opportunities for communities to enjoy and learn about their culture and environment. The efforts are also considered as struggles to achieve environmental and socio-cultural sustainability because they promote environmental and cultural awareness to the public. Thus, efforts have been directed at promoting Tanzanian residents’ visits to the country’s natural and cultural tourist attractions. For instance, entrance fees to national parks and historical sites have been reduced for Tanzanian residents and citizens from Tshs 3,000/= (about US Dollars 2) to Tshs 500/= (about US Dollars 0.3). Notwithstanding such efforts, accommodation and transport costs are still considered to be too high for most citizens to afford. No wonder the majority of domestic tourists include employees of big companies or some government institutions, expatriate residents and group travel such as school students (URT, 2002). In general, the rate of growth in domestic tourists in relation to international tourists is still low (URT, 2010b).

5.0 CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS

The paper aimed at critically studying the history of tourism in sub-Sahara Africa and investigating the nature of tourism development in the region, factors shaping its development, and its practices in relation to the three pillars of sustainable tourism with a special focus on Tanzania Mainland. With the use of documentary review, in-depth interviews and anecdotal evidences, the paper traced the evolution and development of tourism in Tanzania, the challenges it faced and events and circumstances that made it to grow with some periods of decline.

Tanzania is the cradle of humankind and, therefore, the base for the essence of early human movements. This means that travel was the core component of tourism started in ancient periods. Before colonialism, Tanzanians were moving and exploring their environment for various purposes during their leisure time or for subsistence. The earliest urban centers like Rhapta which developed before colonialism form localities where early international travels for commercial purposes evolved in the country. For such reasons, in contrast to Salazer (2009), Wade et al (2001) and Ouma (1970), the paper argues that, during the pre-colonial period, sub-Sahara Africa was not a dark and unsafe region because some features of tourism and travels for different purposes were practiced. The paper also agrees with Okpoko & Okpoko (2002) and Lwoga (2011) that with the coming of the colonialists, the early travels in sub-Sahara Africa evolved into modern tourism. In addition, similar factors that influenced tourism in Europe and North America as noted by Page (2009), Cook et al (2006), Cooper (2005), Goeldner et al (2000), Theobald (1998), Holloway (1998), Cruz (1997) and Lickorish & Jenkins (1997) influenced tourism development and growth in Tanzania. The factors

The Eastern African Journal of Hospitality, Leisure and Tourism Vol. 1 No. 2 December 201321

include the introduction of tourist facilities, services, travel networks and infrastructure; the improvement in transport and communication technologies; the growth in trade and socio-economical movements; economic prosperity and introduction of paid holidays; wars and political situation of the destination; regional and international cooperation which promoted international travels and relationships; developments in conservation of heritage; increased efforts in destination marketing and promotion, and; the increase in safety and security.

As earlier suggested by Wade et al (2001) and Lwoga (2011), in political context, some sub-Sahara African countries such as Tanzania experienced different political movements from socialist to capitalist aspects that greatly shaped the way tourism is being perceived by locals, and the way it is run and managed today. The influence from supranational institutions and the developed world changed the political and economical policies of the country from the socialist to capitalist direction. Such a change caused the ideological shift from the ‘Dependencia School’ to the ‘Bargaining School’ (Brown, 2000). Within the socialist thinking after independence, the ‘Dependencia School’ viewed international tourism as a means where capitalist and developed nations exploit and put Tanzania at a disadvantage position in the international economy. On the other hand, the ‘Bargaining School’ believed that the power relationships between rich and poor countries evolve and shift over time. That, through international tourism, Tanzania’s position in international economy will be attained if the country follows the right path and policies (Ibid.). While the former ‘Dependencia School’ was seen as a hindrance to international tourism development as shown in this paper, the latter ‘Bargaining School’ promoted tourism investments, in particular, from the mid-1980s with the reforms in economical and political spheres. With the promise to contribute to community developments and to counteract the negative effects of traditional mass tourism, the country engulfed sustainable tourism approach from the 1990s. The sustainable tourism approach was adopted in sub-Sahara Africa with the hope of addressing the historical problems and healing the wounds caused by the denial of community rights and concerns in tourism development. However, the issues of achieving the core pillars of sustainable tourism and satisfying the long-term local community’s interests within the contexts of globalization, and developed and developing countries power relation are still doubted. The history has indicated that most countries in sub-Sahara Africa, in particular, Tanzania focus much on economic benefits of tourism depicted through statistical figures while community’s rights and concerns over the use and exploitation of their natural and cultural resources are denied. Moreover, poverty is still persisting in areas which are endowed with tourist attractions of world and national heritage.

Tourism management policy makers and institutions in sub-Sahara Africa and, in Tanzania in particular, should be reminded that tourism was not brought as a package by colonialists as it is commonly believed. Its development was mostly locally since the earlier periods before colonialism. Later, it became a process of struggle and faced local resistance in line with historical events such as colonialism and the neo-colonization processes. Such events, in particular neocolonialism still dominate today’s tourism decision making and administrative processes in sub-Sahara Africa. Global policies and social and legislative set-up still shape the way the north (developed countries) dominates tourism industry in the south (developing countries) (Momforth & Munt, 1998). If not implemented to address the problems of local communities, the foreign-originated approach sustainable tourism will only be perceived as a neocolonial tool and a dream in sub-Sahara Africa. The local communities have only been acknowledged as important stakeholders in the theoretical explanations of sustainable tourism, but for a long time neglected in tourism development and management practices. Furthermore, as earlier mentioned by Chachage (2003; 2007), the historical denial of local


community’s rights of participation and ownership of tourism has to be stopped. Tourism development and growth in sub-Sahara African countries like Tanzania should be designed to involve and benefit the local community. This can be achieved by empowering locals in terms of knowledge, attitudes and skills (through training), ownership of their local resources such as land, and financial capacity to manage and own tourist destinations and facilities. It can also be achieved by incorporating local community’s concerns and needs in the formulation of sustainable tourism policies and strategies. As argued by Mowforth & Munt (1998), the foreign-generated concept sustainable tourism should be re-designed, planned and implemented in sub-Sahara Africa in a bottom-up approach and in the local context to serve the denied long-term interests of local communities who are the natural owners and custodians of natural and cultural tourist attractions. Thus, the next reviews of the National Tourism Policy and Tourism Master Plan should address the mentioned issues and put provisions for ensuring community participation in tourism activities, investments and management and for protecting their rights and concerns over tourism development.

Today’s tourism managers, planners and policy makers should also learn that the achievement of sustainable tourism will depend much on their fulfillment of the following issues that have, throughout the history, appeared to be crucial determinants for tourism development and its benefits to the local economy: satisfying such traditional factors for tourism development as developing infrastructure and tourist facilities; maintaining peace, security and safety in the country; improving the quality of services like tour guiding and hospitality through training; improving transport networks and travel terminals; investing strongly in the promotion of tourist attractions, and strengthening the country’s economy and manpower bases by improving local production (industries), tourism revenue collections, tourism education systems and local entrepreneurship. This will ensure that the country and its people benefit from tourism development and investments in the arena of globalization and developing-developed country relations.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The author would like to acknowledge all tourism and history scholars who provided constructive comments on this paper, particularly Mr. Michael Patrick (Open University of Tanzania) and others who gave their comments during the International Conference on Sustainable Tourism in Developing Countries (ICST-DC) held on 8th – 9th August 2012 in Zanzibar.

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