In an effort to ramp up investments in wildlife conservation and sustainable tourism, Tanzanian Wildlife Management Authority has launched a special scheme that has already invited investments of USD 278 million.

The Tanzania Wildlife Management Authority (TAWA) says it has attracted five prospective investors in seven Special Wildlife Investment Concession Areas (SWICA), who are expected to finance projects with investment of USD 278 million to enhance sustainable tourism in the country.

TAWA Conservation Commissioner Mabula Nyanda said during the signing of the strategic investment contracts with the investors in Dar es Salaam recently that the development will allow SWICA model to be used for the first time in the country.

On the occasion, Minister for Natural Resource and Tourism Angellah Kairuki welcomed investors from across the world to tap in to the abundant tourism opportunities available in Tanzania.

Nyanda said that the seven concession areas as the Maswa Game Reserve (GR) North, Selous GR LLI, Grumeti GR, Ikongoro GR, Mkungunero GR, Maswa GR Kimali and Maswa GR Mbono.

According to a press statement, SWICA is a model that allows investors to provide trophy hunting and photographic tourism services including walking safaris and bird watching within one concession area, especially targeting high-end customers, who prefer exclusive and luxurious services.

Nyanda said three of the investors were foreign companies. He added that Bushman Safari Trackers will run the Maswa GR North, Mkwawa Hunting Safaris will operate the Selous GR LL1, while Grumeti Reserves will invest in Grumeti GR and Ikorongo GR.

Mwiba Holdings will run the Maswa GR Mbono and Maswa GR Kimali and the Magellan General Trading will operate the Mkungunero GR, he added. Nyanda said the investment will generate government revenues of USD 314 million in 20 years.

“The expected revenue generated per year is nine times the revenues that were generated in these concession areas through trophy hunting business model,” he said.

The trophy hunting business model involves the authorised shooting of wild animals grown and selected for the purpose. “It is also our expectation that, our partners will be aggressive enough in developing and marketing these tourism areas so that visitors make them their first choice due to unforgettable tourism services that will be offered,” he added.

He said the increase in revenue implies that the SWICA business model is a viable option toward reaching the optimal and sustainable utilisation of wildlife resource for economic gain. He added that TAWA will ensure smooth implementation of all SWICA projects in the respective areas by collaborating all investors.

Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism Kairuki said the SWICA model will increase tourism visitation and revenues in the concession areas significantly contributing to the government target of raising the number of tourists from 1.5 million in the fiscal year 2021-2022 to five million in fiscal 2025-2026. She added that the move aligns with target of increasing revenue from the tourism sector to USD 6 billion from USD 2.6 billion.

In 2023, Tanzania received a total of 1.7 million tourists in comparison to 1.4 million in 2022, saying the number shows stunning progress.