Will Arusha city survive this recession?

Well there's no Ebola in Arusha Tanzania matter of fact there's no Ebola cases anywhere near east Africa but here we are today whereby  millions of people still think since a part of Africa is affected with this dangerous  disease then Arusha city should be in the red zone (The irony being the distance between the affected part of Africa and Tanzania is the equivalency of distance between Maine and California) and so this misconception has scared off tourists who were even thinking about coming to Arusha for a safari, mountain climbing or even volunteering.Our city that depends almost solely on tourism still doesn't have a plan to combat this "Lie" which has hit hard in almost every aspect of business within the city and it wont get any better in 2015 with the high dollar  exchange rates caused by the aid restriction earlier this year .
It's amazing that hotels are still coming up in each and every corner of the city, tour companies have hundreds of cars, the tourism/hospitality schools are still in high gear enrolling with hope that change will come and soon.
The million dollar question that everyone in the hospitality industry should ask themselves this very minute is will our city of Arusha Tanzania survive this unprecedented recession?. The answer lies with time which by no doubt indicates that we will survive this but we need to go back to the drawing board and get our priorities straight,our books in order and switch on survival mode .

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Arusha city tourism industry challenges

Arusha Tanzania is by no doubt the capital safari of Tanzania and some might even say the whole of east Africa.Characterized by it's fast paced,hotels,bnb's,lodges,restaurants and tourism companies on every corner of  the streets.As per our previously posts every month a we have the pleasure of highlighting what our city offers,what to expect when visiting for a safari,the challenges faced by business owners and what future investors need to know.

Power cuts are still a major problem
Like many other African cities this dwarfs  businesses potential of any sector and the tourism industry is not immune to it either.Accommodations depend on electricity to provide simple basic services like elevators,air conditioning ,emergency services,security.food preparation,heating and cooling etc.Without guaranteed power the owners rely on back up generators ,solar power a necessary investment causing sky rocketing  running costs to provide their services which in turn has to translate on the prices.

Language barrier
 Also another clearly observed challenge compared to some other countries along the same hemisphere.Tanzania's national language being Swahili is a gift to the Tanzanian people but has also brought about some challenges as far as servicing it's international clientele which is it's bread and butter.A few hotels and accommodations have people that not only speak English but also several other languages which is excellent only problem is that's not the majority and so tourists sometimes have a hard time in getting even the minimum customer service because the people serving them don't understand what they are told.It's a learning experience indeed but the business owners are doing everything they can with what they have and i must say it's working for both the tourists and the businesses.

Internet expense and outages is still a major issue.
Embracing the twenty first century online business is on the rise on Arusha business but establishing an online presence or internet availability still costs an arm and a leg.With companies still charging per second increments to surf the web  it's so hard for accommodations to sell and advertise themselves online let alone provide these services to it's clients.Most hotels in the world are able to provide this simple and basic service to their clients for free or at  very affordable prices having an overall competitive advantage in quality and convenience.

Red tape across the board makes doing business in our city a hassle.
Even though Arusha gained city status most  business licenses , property registration etc still have to come from Dar-es-Salaam which may take months to get processed,approved  which is a problem for business funding, investing and operations due to uncertainty of these services .Not to say this is not changing but the city still has a long way to go to make business transactions smoothly so as to attract more investors and native start ups with less hassles.
We are an excellent and growing city and despite our challenges we welcome everyone to jump on the Arusha tourism band wagon and make our city great .

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Is Arusha city Tanzania a model in the hospitality industry of Africa?

Some would argue that this is the safari capital of Africa, being close proximity to mt Meru, Mt Kilimanjaro (highest peak of Africa) and the most famous national parks in Africa ,"The Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Tarangire, Seronera, Manyara " . The region being rich in water and natural resources like the Tanzanite (only place it can be mined in the world) has in recent years finally got the prestige it deserves.
Home to the former United nations tribunal court, current home to the East African community, Nelson Mandela's university, Makumira university , and host of the popular East Africa travel show (Karibu) the city is legend to millions of tourists visiting Tanzania every year for Safari,mountain climbing, domestic travel etc.
The hospitality industry is also a booming business in the region with more high end hotels, lodges, restaurants and travel services like no other in Tanzania, almost everyone living in the region is somehow dependent to the hospitality industry for employment.
All this begs the question "Is Arusha city a model in the hospitality industry of Africa?" the answer may not be as simple  because the region still has it's hiccups in things like infrastructure, power outages,unreliable health services etc but as many third world countries the region is still finding itself and still has long ways to go but it's a step to the right direction and better than many other Africa cities when it comes to hospitality. "Hakuna Matata"

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There's no hurry in Africa? Well, think again...(Tanzania hospitality)

Breaking News: African hospitality industry Shakeup !!!!!

Marriott acquires Protea hotel group to be the largest African chain hotels,(Tanzania has a few in and outside the national park)
Hilton Worldwide and Carlson Rezidor in particular have "invested heavily" in development offices in Africa.
Sheraton already has hotels in Dar-es-salaam and Zanzibar .

These are news most Tanzanian and African hotel owners are waking up to hear on daily basis,brands that can take the very market that most local hotels have flourished and depended on for generations.Questions that loom around for these local accommodations include:Where do we go from here?, Should we invest more in marketing,buildings customer service and technology that these powerful brands have in order to survive and compete?should we change our business model or should we just quit all together and find a different gig?
These changes can be a blessing in disguise for the industry especially in our region of Arusha (Aka Safari capital of Tanzania) because with competition & pressure hoteliers will have to roll back their sleeves and come up with innovative ideas to survive and compete for the market share like never before.The term "There's no hurry in Africa" might have to be re-written in the 21'st century.

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Arusha hospitality insider

Arusha city has the travel industry to thank for when it comes to the economic booms of the last few years.Now the city bosts hundreds of tour companies small and large each giving it a hundred 100% to get all the customers it can get within the tourism seasons every year.With the safari business on the high gear alot of industries have now emerged to support the idustry providing employement to thousands of people.

Hotels:
There has been an explosion of hotels, accommodations, bnb's and quality guest houses emerging on daily basis to support the increase of tourists coming to Arusha,you can expect to pay anything from $20 from a low end accommodation all the way to $225 a night for a high end accommodation (Just remember you get what you pay for).The international community has been embracing this growth and Arusha city is loving it.

Restaurants:
Another industry that in the past few years has seen a tremendous rise is the restaurant industry, you can now taste anything from African, Italian,Indian even mexican cusine any day within city limits. Tourists have the choice to eat any of the international cuisines with an African twist, a trend that Tanzanians have embraced to the fullest.

Hotel Management and Chef Schools
With the high demand of qualified labor work various schools have opened up to train and fulfill those postitions by training everything from bartending,reception,janitorial,management and cooking lessons.Experts from within and outside the country have rolled up their sleeves and got to work and earning huge success while doing it.

Body shops
The tour companies require specialized vehicles customized to fit the safari and the Tanzania terrain.Companies large and small have taken this opprotunity to the next level and are able to provide quality vehicles like never before employing alot of people that would had other wise been unemployed .

Advertising agents
All the safari companies , hotels etc need someone to get their business known inside and outside the country thus advertsing agents have sprung into action to provide the services much needed to these companies helping to improve life standards of the people and the city in general.

All in all Arusha aka "A town" is the safari capital of E. Africa and we are so excited about the future.

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