Tanzania Invites Investors to Build Hotels in Dodoma

Tanzania government is inviting international investors to open new hotels in the new capital city Dodoma in a bid to attract more international visitors and investors to the new capital. Although a popular tourist destination, Dodoma has limited high-class accommodation facilities.

Due to the fact that the new capital city of Tanzania is lacking hotels with prestigious standards to accommodate diplomats, international business executives, and high-ranking officials touring the city for business, political and diplomatic gatherings, the government is now offering added incentives for international investors to develop the city’s hotel and hospitality industry.

Despite an increase in the number of tourists visiting the city, Dodoma has only three hotels that too in Three Star category. These are Fantasy Village (22 rooms), Nashera Hotel (52 rooms), and Dodoma Hotel (91 rooms).

Tanzania’s Deputy Minister for Natural Resources, Constantine Kanyasu, has expressed his desire to see the opening of new Five-Star hotels in Dodoma by attracting foreign direct investments in the hotel sector of Dodoma.

Hotels in Tanzania

Dodoma city has only 428 rooms in its 24 hotels offering standard accommodation of a Three Star Category.

Kanyasu said that the government had allocated areas for construction of hotels and other tourism facilities, aiming to raise the status of the new capital city of Tanzania as an attractive tourist destination in Tanzania.

Tanzania government had relocated its entire administrative political and government services to Dodoma with all ministries and key departments.

Dar es Salaam, now Tanzania’s commercial city is the leading tourism city with 242 hotels of international standards, ranging from three to Five-Star category. There are 177 hotels rated One to Three Star Class, 31 Four Star Class, and 19 Five Star Class, all established in Dar es Salaam with about 24,000 rooms.

Tanzania is now targeting Conference and Meeting tourism (MICE) market to attract more visitors.

Currently, under implementation, Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB) has targeted to attract conferences and business visitors to hold international conferences in Tanzania, aiming to attract participants who would book hotels, mostly in Dar es Salaam, Arusha and other cities including the new capital, Dodoma.

The Ministry of Tourism is working jointly with Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB) to attract conferences and events to take place in Tanzania where participants would book hotels then attract more investments in the hotel industry to increase the number of bedrooms and conference facilities.

The Arusha International Conference Centre (AICC) and the Julius Nyerere International Convention Centre in Dar es salaam are the two leading conference centers in Tanzania with capacities to hold several meetings at the same time.

AICC has 10 meeting rooms with a seating capacity from 10 in the break-out rooms to 1,350 delegates in the main auditorium. The average total occupancy for all the meeting rooms when in use is about 2,500 delegates.

The Centre hosts an average of 100 meetings each year with a total average number of 11,000 conference delegates per year, mostly local meetings organized by the Tanzania government.

Regionally, Rwanda and South Africa have been rated the leading African nations in conference tourism with Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) and the East African Community (EAC) blocs.

Dodoma Tourism Sector

Situated in the heart of Tanzania, Dodoma is the official capital of Tanzania. It has a population of over 400,000 people making it the fourth largest city in Tanzania and it is home to the country’s parliament.

The city stands on the Great North Road that connects Cape Town in South Africa to Cairo in Egypt, famous for tourists driving from the southern point of Africa to the northern point of the continent.

Closer to Tanzania’s leading northern Tanzania tourist circuit and the Kenyan tourist capital Nairobi, Dodoma has been identified a sleeping tourist investment area.

Dodoma has a rich agricultural society and a budding wine industry, with small-scale farming being most dominant in the city. The sun-bathed landscape is impressive with a Safari feel to it. It has an abundance of sunshine all year round making worth a holiday breathtaking.

Lion Rock, an outcrop perching in the city outskirts, creating a beautiful natural attraction that brings memories of the famous cartoon, the Lion King. The rock gives an elevated view of Dodoma and is quite a breathtaking attraction. It is a favorite destination for families and friends.