Women in tourism in Tanzania have launched their association to promote gender equality in this multi-billion-dollar industry.
Dubbed Tanzania Association of Women Tour Operators (TAWTO), with its base in the country’s northern safari capital of Arusha, this movement intends to set a gender parity agenda in the $2.6 billion tourism industry.
“As a matter of fact, tourism is [a] male dominated industry, and we thought it’s imperative to establish [a] women[‘s] association to promote women’s empowerment and take proactive steps to mainstream gender in tourism policies, planning, and operations,” said the TAWTO Chairperson, Ms. Elizabeth Mwakajila, during the organization’s inauguration on April 14, 2023.
With 40 founding members who are all women tour operators in Tanzania, she said that TAWTO’s membership includes a diverse representation of women with different education and socio- backgrounds who have fought extremely hard to excel in the male-dominated industry.
“We’ve unanimously decided to raise the voice of female[s] in [the] tourism industry to complement the efforts of … Tanzania’s pioneer … female President, Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan, who was a key tour guide in the Royal Tour documentary,” Ms. Mwakajila explained.
TAWTO will also step-up efforts in promoting the tourism industry with a focus on conservation as well as encouraging women, especially young girls, to venture into the business by providing them with training on tourism and community development.
The “idea is to ensure tourism remains a leading foreign currency earner in [the] Tanzania economy. Tourism should be promoted and developed in a sustainable manner and ought to benefit the local communities,” Ms. Mwakajila stressed.
TAWTO will also offer business training and exposure opportunities to its members as it seeks to partner with its international peers and other tourism-related organizations in a bid to enable each other through training and the exchange program. The organization’s goal is to empower its members to become tourism professionals so that they are able to spur the tourism industry in order to grow by leaps and bounds so as to create decent jobs for the critical mass of youth and women.
“We believe that when women prosper in business, [they] will create employment opportunities [for] other women, become economically independent, and … able to build [a] prosperous society,” the TAWTO chief noted.
TAWTO has appointed advisors to the association in the form of the Arusha Regional Commissioner, Mr. John Mongela, who is credited as a key player in the development and promotion of tourism in Tanzania. Also appointed is tourism guru, mentor, and role model to many young women in tourism in Tanzania and the former Managing Director of the Tanzania Tourist Board, Ms. Devota Mdachi.
Officiating at the TAWTO launch, the Natural Resources and Tourism Minister, Mr. Mohamed Mchengerwa, promised an open-door policy and said he would be willing to work with the association to support the tourism industry.
“The beginning is always tough.”
“We have come to encourage you. I believe our presence as a Ministry will be a catalyst to your performance in conservation and selling many and unique tourist attractions the country is endowed with,” Mr. Mchengerwa said.
He expressed his expectation that TAWTO will hook members from across the country, especially from the untapped southern tourist circuit as a strategy to relieve the northern circuit of tourist traffic. The 1999 Tourism Policy emphasizes sustainable tourism and acknowledges contributions of different players, including women.
“I congratulate TAWTO for performing its policy duty. Participation of women in [the] tourism value chain is high [on the] agenda. This is reflected in the country’s first female President taking part in leaving her office to promote tourist attractions,” the cabinet Minister noted.
Tanzania is endowed with rich natural resources [more] than any other country in Africa,” Mr. Mchengerwa said, adding that the President, Dr. Samia, has added value for the tourism value chain and shown the way for Tanzanians to actively participate in the industry. It goes without saying that a number of women engaging in the industry has grown, ranging from tour operators to tour guides, wardens, and in the hospitality service provision.
“You will now enjoy … significant support than … ever received in the past. We have opened the doors at the ministry for listening at you. We will zoom around all associations to listen [to] each player,” Mr. Mchengerwa explained.
The tourism industry was hobbled by the COVID-19 pandemic, but owing to joint efforts of President Dr. Samia and key travel and tourism industry players, the number of tourists increased to 1,454,920 in 2022, earning the economy $2.5 billion from about 900,000 the previous year. Local tourists also increased to 2,363,260 from barely thousands.
