Tanzania has threatened to arrest short-stay accommodation facilities that have not registered with the government in the next 50 days.
According to Reuters, the announcement was made by Rosada Musoma, Director of Licensing and Control in the Ministry of Tourism. She said, when the 50-day period for registration comes to an end next month, government would arrest operators that had failed to register.
Siriri Akko, Executive Secretary of the Tanzania Association of Tour Operators, told Reuters he believed the decision would help keep business in the tourism industry fair and competitive as well as protect tourists from potential problems. “Even if they (accommodation operators) receive a low number of tourists, they should pay taxes and licence fees like others, because their business is growing fast as tourists now want to experience life outside of hotels,” he said.
The regulations will affect home-rental services like Airbnb. Popular tourist cities like Barcelona, New York, Paris and Berlin have all issued regulations with regard to short-term rentals. According to Airbnb’s ‘Overview into Airbnb in Africa’ report, dated October 2017, Tanzania was the company’s fifth largest African country for guest arrivals.
