Tanzania’s government has been slammed for slashing the budget allocated to conservation and tourism by 47% in the 2025/26 financial year.
The budget for the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism has been reduced from the TZS596.1 billion (€192.5 million) allocated in 2024/25 to TZS317.4 billion (€102.4 million).
The Tourism Confederation of Tanzania (TCT) – the umbrella body representing the country’s private-sector tourism interests – has expressed “deep shock and disappointment” at the budget cuts.
“This cut contradicts the government’s stated goals of building a well-resourced, green and inclusive economy. It undermines the long-term sustainability of the ecosystems and wildlife that are the foundation of Tanzania’s global tourism competitiveness,” the TCT said in a statement.
Tanzania’s third five-year development plan positions tourism as a “transformative sector for job creation and rural development”.
The TCT said: “For tourism to fulfil its envisioned role, it must be strategically elevated, not fiscally marginalised.”
Nature-based tourism accounts for over 70% of Tanzania’s tourism product, the TCT pointed out.
“While neighbouring countries are increasing investments in park infrastructure, conservation enforcement and climate resilience, Tanzania is regressing.”
While 50% of the country’s Tourism Development Levy is directed to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, the budget offers “no precise mechanism for transparent reinvestment into frontline conservation or destination marketing,” the TCT added.
The Tanzanian government is additionally criticised for quickly implementing new charges, such as the mandatory US$44 travel insurance for non-residents, without matching this with “reinvestment into the attractions that drive tourist arrivals”.
A call for reconsideration
The TCT called on government to urgently recognise tourism as a national development pillar.
It suggested that 3-5% of total tourism earnings should be ringfenced into a National Conservation Trust Fund, which the TCT claimed could yield over US$150 million annually and prevent the introduction of new taxes.
The TCT further called for the establishment of “transparent reinvestment systems” and performance-based disbursements to districts and communities that demonstrate successes in conservation.
“Failure to act risks not only ecosystem degradation and lost economic opportunity but also reputational harm to Tanzania’s standing as a premier nature and cultural destination.”
The Bank of Tanzania highlighted that tourism revenue reached a record US$3.8 billion in the 2024/25 financial year ended April 30.
The increase is attributed to an over 10% year-on-year rise in international tourist arrivals to over 2.1 million.
