The province of Inhambane, located in the southern region of Mozambique, has been one of the favourite places for tourists to spend the end of year festivities, due to the fact that it has beaches with crystal clear water and many tourist sites. However, the authorities have announced that the demonstrations are affecting the tourism sector and have forced the cancellation of accommodation bookings.
The director of the Culture and Tourism sector, Emídio Nhantumbo, said that for the current festive season, the province is in danger of not reaching the target of receiving more than 61,000 tourists, including international and foreign tourists, pointing out that 13,000 bookings have already been cancelled.
‘We wanted to appeal to tourists who are not yet on their way to Inhambane, both domestic and foreign, to use air transport, which is safer, to avoid situations of insecurity along the way.’
Mozambique is experiencing successive stoppages and demonstrations all over the country, which have degenerated into clashes with the police that have left more than a hundred people dead. The protests are being organised by presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane, who is contesting the victory of Daniel Chapo, the candidate supported by the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo, in power), with 70.67% of the vote.
Recently, in one of his speeches, Mondlane recommended the cancellation of festive events, including end-of-year parties and the traditional New Year’s Eve, and reiterated that this is not a time for celebrations. ‘When a people are in sorrow, respect demands that celebrations be suspended, and that this serves as an expression of solidarity with the critical moment we are going through.’
In August, at a presentation during the International Tourism Fair (FIKANI), Emídio Nhantumbo revealed that in the first half of this year, Inhambane had recorded revenue of 4.8 billion meticals (around 76.9 million dollars) from accommodation and catering by Mozambican and foreign citizens, pointing out that the figures corresponded to an increase of 43.2 per cent compared to the previous year, when the revenue recorded was 3.4 billion meticals.
At the time, he said that the province had projected the arrival of 295,997 national and international tourists, an increase of 22.9 per cent compared to the previous year when 240,286 tourists were planned, of which 95,117 were nationals and 145,169 foreigners.
Government figures show that in the last five years, Inhambane province has approved 197 investment projects in the hotel and tourism sector, totalling 597 million dollars (37.7 billion meticals). Among them is ‘FARUHAR Mozambique’, approved in 2023, which is being implemented in the districts of Massinga and Vilankulo, with a budget of around 500 million dollars and the potential to generate 690 jobs.
In 2019, the sector employed 7519 workers, but there was a decline to 6810 in 2022. However, by the end of the first half of 2024, the number of jobs had risen again to 6926.
