In the last five years, the province of Inhambane, located in the southern region of Mozambique, has approved 197 investment projects in the hotel and tourism sector, totalling 597 million dollars (37.7 billion meticals), according to a newspaper Noticias.
According to the governor of Inhambane province, Eduardo Sebastião Mussanhane, one of the projects approved is “FARUHAR Mozambique”, which was approved in 2023 and 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.
These figures were released during the 2nd edition of the Provincial Tourism Forum, an event aimed at discussing the challenges and opportunities for maximising Mozambique’s tourism potential, especially in Inhambane, as well as addressing the procedures for calculating revenue from the tourism sector and mechanisms for processing statistical data in this area.
Speaking at the event, Mussanhane said that the province had experienced a significant reduction in the development of tourism, especially during the covid-19 pandemic, pointing out that “in 2019, there were 799 tourist enterprises, a number that has reduced to 735, representing a drop of 9%”.
“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. Even so, there is a need to attract more tourists, both domestic and foreign, to ensure that tourism has a greater impact on the local economy,” he emphasised.
For his part, Leigh Davis, vice-president of the Hotel and Tourism Association of Inhambane province (AHTPI), mentioned the problems faced with Mozambican President (LAM) flights, including frequent cancellations and changes to departure times, which make travel costly and disruptive for travellers.
Davis also addressed the need to improve roads, make it easier to obtain visas with defined and well-documented prices, and simplify guest payments through banking systems.
