Tanzania asks tourists to pay using local currency
Saturday July 13 2024
Tourists camping at few meters away from Sand River waiting for the wildebeests to cross from Tanzania's Serengeti National Park as migration kicks off. PHOTO | FILE | NMG
Tanzania’s Ministry of Tourism and Natural Resources has ordered that all fees and charges in the tourism sector be paid in local currency, in line with a government directive that all local transactions be in the country's shillings.
The directive covers even Tourism Business Licence fees, filming permits and visiting fees.
Payments previously paid in dollars will be converted into Tanzanian shillings based on the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) exchange rate, as the government continues to develop a permanent payment modality in collaboration with stakeholders, a notice by the ministry said.
“All tourism business operators, tour guides, individuals or institutions issued with Control Number in US dollars before July 1, 2024 will need to pay based on the currency specified in perspective Control Number until August 1, 2024,” the notice added.
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Tanzania National Parks switched from the use of dollars to Tanzania shillings from July 1 and directed tourist companies and other service providers to follow suit.
Finance Minister Mwigulu Nchemba banned the use of dollars in local transactions in his 2024 / 2025 Annual Budget speech in June.
The directive was put in place to stabilise the Tanzanian shilling.
Tourists and non-resident customers have been encouraged to exchange foreign currency for Tanzanian shillings to facilitate transactions that would support Tanzania’s economy.
Tourism has been a fast-growing dollar intensive business in Tanzania with most tourist services transactions made in dollars.