Conservation and Environmental Sustainability

2.4 Tourism Governance

2.4.1 Background

2. The Present Situation

The strategic assessment of the legislative and institutional framework on tourism development and promotion indicates that although there is a comprehensive legislative framework, there are many gaps in the actual implementation which have resulted in gross inefficiencies and generally poor performance in the entire sector. Good strategies and initiatives are developed, but there is no follow up to ensure the implementation of recommendations or resolutions. This has tarnished the image of the Zanzibar Commission for Tourism in providing effective leadership, guidance and monitoring of the tourism sector in the country. In essence, the failures of the tourism sector are mostly attached to the poor coordination and the lack of tools to monitor the performance of the tourism sector.

The ZCT, having been assigned the responsibility of implementing tourism development and marketing in Zanzibar, has not been able to perform to the required standards – over the past years, its focus was more on international marketing with little emphasis on domestic marketing, market research and product development – and this has not yielded good results, Overlapping and duplication of tourism activities between the stakeholders (including local governments) is quite evident and there is poor communication between these entities – in some instances they might be seen as competing against each other.

Respective regulatory instruments have not been adequately translated into workable forms. For instance, there is neither implementation plan nor monitoring and evaluation plan to guide and track the implementation of tourism policy. No regulations have been developed to guide implementation of Tourism Act No. 6 of 2009 with its amendments of 2012. The existing legal frameworks have not been sufficiently harmonised to the extent the implementation of some Acts impede tourism development. In addition, the Tourism Act of 2009 itself made little provision for involvement of police force in tourism security. Limited organisational capacity, shortage of financial resources, lack of synergy and awareness are some of the important reasons for the above shortfalls.

Weak enforcement of laws and regulations governing the tourism industry is associated with lack of awareness in law obedience, low collaboration from stakeholders in law enforcement; corruption; and low capacity to law enforcers in terms of both skills and facilities. It is evident that inappropriate interpretation of laws, lack of incentives for citizens to collaborate in law enforcement due to lack of integrity and lack of confidentiality; low level of education for law enforcers and lack of modern equipment and facilities are the principal reasons behind the above weakness.

Weak linkages between tourism and community economic activities are associated with low production, poor quality and lack of marketing information. In addition there are few employment opportunities for the local community particularly in higher rank positions in hotels and restaurants due low tourism related skills and a negative attitude towards tourism amongst locals. The situation also linked to weak enforcement of labour law and regulations. Likewise, compensation schemes have not been attractive. People have been dragged out of their places through middleman who normally take a large share of the price paid by investors for land acquisition. There is also no clear guide on practicing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Some companies practice CSR through the local Sheha without the wider involvement of surrounding communities. Some communities have complained that some of the assistance offered by investors is not used for its intended purpose.