Moz tourism takes another knock

THE UK’s Foreign and
Commonwealth Office (FCO)
has issued a renewed travel
advisory for Mozambique
and is warning against
all but essential travel to
Sofala Province, with the
exception of the provincial
capital, Beira.
The FCO says there
have been armed clashes
between government of
Mozambique security forces
and the armed Renamo
opposition, the most recent
on June 4 in Sofala Province
on the main north-south N1
road. There have also been
isolated incidents in Manica,
Nampula and Inhambane
Provinces.
The political unrest and
ensuing travel advisories
have had a severe impact
on the country’s tourism
sector, with tour operators
reporting dwindling numbers
to the country. Sunway
Safaris has seen a definite
decline in the number of
bookings on its tours into
central Mozambique. The
operator also received
a substantial number
of cancellations. Shaun
Waring-Jones, founder of
Sunway Safaris, says he
is advising travellers that
the southern regions from
Maputo to Inhambane are
relatively safe but that the
areas north of Inhambane
should be avoided.
Ema Batey, a consultant
at the United States
Agency for International
Development (USAID)
– a federal government
agency responsible for
administering civilian foreign
aid – says the tourism
losses Mozambique incurred
as a result of the recent
situation were reported in
‘Economic cost of conflict
in Mozambique: Assessing
the economic impacts of
renewed conflict on the
tourism sector’, which was
published in April.
According to Ema, direct
losses to Mozambique’s
tourism industry caused by
the conflict are estimated at
slightly more than US$10m
(R107m) between November
2013 and January 2014.
She said operators reported
a 50% drop in business over
the peak season (DecemberJanuary)
compared with
previous years. The average
occupancy rates being
achieved across all market
segments in Vilanculos in
March 2014 was 5% to 10%
compared with 35% to 60%
in 2011. Ema further added
that tourism establishments
were foreseeing a reduction
in staff by 30% to 50%
in 2014 if tourism didn’t
recover to pre-2012 levels
within six months.
Ema explains in the
report that arrivals from
South Africa had declined
considerably between 2010
and 2013 with 872 017
arrivals in 2013 compared
with 946 583 in 2010.
Despite the decline in
numbers, SA accounts for
the bulk of Mozambique’s
regional traffic with a 44%
share of all regional visitors
to the country.