Understanding the influence of tourism in the city of Maputo was the objective of the Tourism Value Chain Analysis held recently by SNV in the Mozambican capital. The work resulted from an extensive coordination and collaboration of the Ministry of Tourism (MITUR), INATUR, City Government, Municipality, CEDARTE, ICC, and the United Nations Programme for Creative Industries.
The results of the study brought to light a set of economic information for recognizing the economic impact of tourism activity in Maputo city, mainly from their contribution in generating employment, income for the poor, and the identification of sectors that benefit directly and indirectly from the tourism economy.
When we look at tourism anywhere in the world, it is common to have some information gaps, for various reasons, and most especially reflected in the difficulty going deep in the analysis of searching tourism value chain.
In this article, we are pleased to share some specific information that will complement the vision that MITUR offers with its annual data and statistical research, hoping that now we will allow a more accurate view of the situation that currently prevails in Maputo tourism destination. That said, we see that Maputo is the main tourist destination in Mozambique, namely in terms of number of visitors. Some 333 000 tourists visit our city each year, and in terms of income derived from tourism valued at US$ 95 million, which entered the city's economy as a direct result of tourists spending.
It is thanks to the spending by tourists in Maputo city that 4,000 jobs are generated, mainly in the segments of Bars & Restaurants, Lodging, Crafts and Trade. Of course, at the same time, state revenues are also reinforced by the tourism economy in the form of taxes.
If we dwell to analyze the market structure of tourists visiting Maputo, we see an exceptional and very important data. It all indicates that 44% of the total tourists visiting the city are nationals. Thus, the average economic growth of 6%, the country experienced in the last five years, is showing its effective realization in the pocket of Mozambicans, who are travelling.
The study also notes that Mozambicans are visiting Maputo mainly motivated by events & businesses (87%) and visiting relatives & friends (13%). This information is exciting, as we know it is very difficult to develop a competitive and sustainable tourism industry without a strong domestic market.
Take the example of Brazil: here, 58 million domestic and 5 million international travels were recorded in 2008. What would the Brazilian tourism industry be if it depended only on the foreign market? Can you imagine? …
Likewise, other valuable information emerges, and may point out that the segment of events & business is key activity in local tourism economy, and that the segment of leisure and culture is still immature, something which forces us to make some reflections.
Could the segment of leisure and culture generate more employment and income in the city for the poor? What are the bottle necks of cultural tourism? Do we know how to operate the receptive cultural tourism? Can we learn to do this better?
Still under the framework of analysing the tourism market, we could identify that 80% of tourists stay in the city over 3 days and 75% have visited the city more than twice.
This information is very important for the Government and entrepreneurs, and could pave the way for a new conception of development strategies and tourism marketing, and particularly the role of receptive tourism agencies, this segment still unexplored by the national private sector.
Although this are positive news within the range of issues that the city needs to deal with to uplift itself economically, I would like to emphasize one main issue: the city of Maputo needs to take the responsibility of serving as reference for the rest of the country on public management and development of tourism.
Currently it's difficult for Mozambique to stimulate tourism development in the speed and quality it desires if it does not have a concrete national reference, a place that has enough examples to illustrate by its own experience where and how to develop tourism activity.
Mozambique needs to mirror itself on a reference, a catalyst destination of tourism activity, that serves the rest of the country as a laboratory of experiences where Mozambican tourism technology can be conceived, implemented and soon spread throughout the country by standing technical bodies. This would be just like the role played by the State of Bahia in Brazil, Barcelona in Spain and Dubai in Arab Emirates, then Maputo city has the opportunity and perhaps the responsibility ( because of its economic importance) to assume this role.
Federico Vignati
Senior Tourism Advisor
SNV - Mozambique
* Author of the book: Tourism Destination Management
