MOZAMBIQUE EARNED 193 MILLION DOLLARS FROM TOURISM

Mozambique earned revenue of 193 million US dollars from tourism in 2015, when 1.63 million tourists visited the country, according to President Filipe Nyusi.Speaking on Thursday at the opening of an International Cnference on the Development of Tourism in Beijing, Nyusi said that investment projects in tourism in 2015 amounted to 139 million dollars, and the sector employs over 50,000 people, directly and indirectly.“These indicators, although they represent a considerable growth in comparison to previous years, are far from corresponding to the potential that Mozambique offers”, he said.The government was thus determined “to improve institutional performance, to attain levels of excellence in providing services to the public. We have made interventions in order to create an environment more favourable to tourist investment”.This included “simplifying procedures for the licensing of economic activities and giving greater incentives to the investors and users of Mozambican facilities”.The government’s Strategic Plan for the Development of Tourism over the next decade, Nyusi said, had as its goal “that by 2025 Mozambique will be the most vibrant, dynamic and exotic destination in Africa”.That vision, he added, “stimulates us to improve the competitiveness of Mozambique in tourism and to develop access and infrastructures. Our vision of tourism is a direct invitation to all investors and tourists to choose Mozambique as a heavenly destination, on the coast and in the interior”.In a period of economic downturn, characterised by a fall in the prices of commodity exports, and a retraction of investment in minerals, tourism could be a valuable alternative. But Nyusi warned that tourism depends on peace and stability.“Acts of terrorism, the absence of effective peace and violence have been significantly affecting tourist activity”, he said.Nonetheless, Nyusi added, tourism “can contribute towards increasing the level of understanding and interaction among peoples, promoting peace and concord in the world”. Tourism could thus become “a factor in the construction and maintenance of peace, and of bringing peoples and nations closer together”.“It enriches cultures and harmony in diversity”, Nyusi claimed. “The tourism industry contributes to the redistribution of wealth, and is thus one of the greatest promoters of social justice”.