Find Tourism and Travel partners in Mozambique
- Overview
- Investment
Overview
The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) estimate that in 2011 travel and tourism contributed in total 7.0% of Mozambique’s GDP. In 2011 this was forecast to rise by 5.9% per annum over the coming decade. The WTTC ranks Mozambique 117th out of 181 countries in terms of the relative contribution of tourism to the economy. The industry supports 6.1% of total employment, which was expected to fall in the short term but then rise, meaning that by 2022 the sector will provide 6.2% of total employment and 631,000 people will be employed directly and indirectly in tourism. In 2011 visitor exports generated 9.1% of total exports, which was expected to fall and rise in line with the general industry trend. In 2010 Mozambique received over 1.7 million tourists.
Investment
Tourism in Mozambique, particularly from South Africa, is on the increase as is small-scale foreign direct investment. The Ministry of Tourism is supported by the IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, through the Mozambique Tourism Anchor Investment Program. The Ministry of Tourism is responsible for the tourism sector and its implementation partner is the National Tourism Institute (INATUR). It is constantly seeking opportunities for additional growth in the sector, and one such area that has been identified for development is ecotourism: three Maputo Elephant Reserve concessions have been demarcated for this purpose. Other conservation projects, notably community projects, are also in place. Active holidays are popular; some of the principal attractions are turtle, dolphin and whale watching, bird watching, hunting, quad biking and sea kayaking. Cultural and historical tourism including ancient rock paintings and historical railways are other attractions. There is much scope and interest in investment in Mozambique’s tourism industry, particularly in conservation projects such as voluntourism and ecotourism.
In 2011 investment in the travel and tourism industry was MZN3.2bn, constituting 5.9% of total investment. This was expected to rise by 5.4% in 2012, and then continue to rise by 1.8% over the following ten years, reaching MZN4.1bn by 2022.