The Ministry of Culture and Tourism, through the National Tourism Institute, has been holding the 10th edition of FIKANI Mozambique – International Tourism Fair- at the Mozambique-China Cultural Centre from Thursday morning, 8 August, until 11 August , under the theme: “Tourism, a Tool for Economic Development and Social Transformation”.
During his opening speech, the Mozambican President, Filipe Nyusi, said that the tourism sector has been contributing more and more to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), since it doubled from 2021 to 2023, above 4 per cent, following visa exemptions for tourists from 29 countries.
“It’s worth mentioning here that there has been a frankly positive evolution in the tourism sector, which has risen from 2.46 per cent in 2021 to 4.02 per cent of GDP in 2023, with the best chances of a growth trajectory in the medium term,” said the statesman.
The head of state said that “the flow of tourists in the various segments points to a growing trend in international arrivals. As a result, revenues from international tourism will reach 13.9 billion meticals (221 million dollars) in 2023, a growth of more than 10 per cent compared to 2022”.
Filipe Nyusi
In addition, during 2023, revenue from tourism in national reserves and parks rose to 227 million meticals (3.52 million dollars), 20 per cent of which benefited local communities.
“This is the principle we have always defended, since the biggest producers of the areas are the local communities,” Nyusi emphasised, giving as examples of demand the national parks of Bazaruto, Maputo and Gorongosa or the Niassa National Reserve.
It is worth mentioning here that the tourism sector is showing a frankly positive evolution, rising from 2.46 per cent in 2021 to 4.02 per cent of GDP in 2023, with the best chances of a medium-term growth trajectory.
Filipe Nyusi
For the head of state, the growth in the tourism sector is justified by the relaxation in the granting of entry visas since May last year, “comprising the introduction of the border visa, changes to the business visa with multiple entries and stays in the country of up to 90 days. There was also a contribution to the sector’s growth – the visa for investment activity with multiple entries and a stay in the country of two to five years, depending on the value of the investment,” he said.
FIKANI exhibition
“Even more important was the visa exemption for 29 countries, as part of the economic acceleration measures, accompanied by the E-Visa platform, with substantial productivity gains, where it was possible to register 75,695 visitors in 2023,” he added, arguing that “these measures should continue to be publicised and exploited”.
For the Mozambican President, another decisive factor in boosting tourism was the “building of various infrastructures by the public sector, such as energy, roads, bridges and hospitals. “Because there are no tourists who go somewhere without knowing how they will be looked after if they have a problem,” he said.
The flow of tourists in the various segments points to a growing trend in international arrivals.As a result, international tourism revenues will reach 13.9 billion meticals (221 million dollars) in 2023, a growth of more than 10 per cent compared to 2022
Filipe Nyusi
At the opening of the 10th edition of FIKANI, which is expected to welcome 6,500 participants and more than 220 exhibitors from various countries, including Portugal, until Sunday (11), the head of state argued that Mozambique has the conditions to “impose itself on international tourism”, starting with a “strong commitment to the quality of products and services, in a differentiating way”.
Túristica Resort
Data provided by the National Statistics Institute (INE) indicates that in 2023 Mozambique received 1.1 million tourists, a reduction of 43.3 per cent when compared to 2019 (the year of the last INDEST – Tourist Expenditure Survey), before covid-19, which stood at two million tourists.
It should also be noted that the borders with the most tourist traffic were Ressano Garcia (27.3%), Maputo Airport (12.0%) and Vilankulo (11.1%). “More than 75 per cent of tourists stay in the country for between four and 30 days,” reads the INE study.
“In 2023, tourists who visited our country spent over 52 billion meticals, representing an average daily spend of 6452 meticals. According to the region they came from, tourists from Africa spent the most (56.9 per cent), followed by those from Europe (21.1 per cent) and Asia (12.3 per cent),” explains the survey.
