Tuesday 29 November 2011

STAKEHOLDERS DEMAND FOR BETTER LAWS TO PROTECT TOURISTS.

The government of Tanzania has been asked to implement stronger laws and regulations to protect tourists while out on their tours since the ones in place are almost useless to them. Reports from the Tanzania Association of Tour Operators show that there are almost 99% of crimes committed like steal tourists properties, conning them, inappropriate handling of tourists and many other crimes that have been reported to the authority between 2008-2011 but they have not been looked into due to poor existing laws.
Mr. Mustapha Akunaay who is the Executive Secretary of TATO mentioned last Tuesday that TATO has already identified 15 tour companies which are offering ghost services via internet and steal lots of money from tourists thus the agent need to form tough laws to be able to stop this kind of act otherwise the country’s image will go down the drain and bring about serious economical consequences in a short run he added. He also said yesterday during the workshop organized to discuss the legal framework on the safety of tourists in Tanzania that it is very important for the tourism sector to ensure the safety of all tourists if the tourism industry is to grow and develop.
Tanzania will still be one of the top countries with the best tourist attractions like the wild life and therefore one of the amazing places to go for a tour after Brazil though the present laws do not in particular cater for the security of the tourist as mentioned before during the workshop by Mr. Adam Mambi who is a law consultant and then a lawyer from the Law Reform Commission also added that neglecting the safety of tourists and their properties is a criminal offence under general laws and also gave an example that the Tourism Act does not specifically show the responsibilities of the police and other forces like the park rangers as regards ensuring the safety of tourists.
Mambi said that the police should form special units just like Kenya did that are responsible for all offences related to safety of tourists in the country. Therefore the present laws should be checked and put up to the standards required to be able to handle to present demands. According to the records of the organizers of the one day workshop, different ministries sent representatives including the Immigration Department from Zanzibar but unfortunately, there was no single delegate from the Tanzania Police and yet other people were from the US Embassy, the British High Commission, Law Reform Commission and other bodies. They came up with solutions to the problem at the end of the workshop and send these ideas to the government to implement.

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