Moz to benefit from 2010 tourism

2008-05-30 09:12

Maputo - Mozambique expects to host around 100 000 foreign tourists during the Fifa 2010 soccer World Cup in neighbouring SA, raking in some $500m in revenue, Tourism Minister Fernando Sumbana said on Thursday.

Sumbana said the sector was showing a satisfactory recovery after slumping during a 17-year civil war which ravaged the southern African country's infrastructure before ending in 1992.

Foreigners had invested $900m in 2007 towards upgrading Mozambique's hotels and national parks, up from $600m injected in 2006.

The country is also refurbishing its existing airports and constructing new ones as part of the tourism drive.

"The sector is now witnessing high levels of investment based on Mozambique taking advantage of the soccer World Cup taking place in SA", Sumbana told Reuters.

"Our investments are targeted at getting maximum revenues during the World Cup. We are looking at something at around $500m in revenues in 2010 during and after the World Cup event," he added.

He said the tourism sector had seen inflows of $280m from foreign tourism visits in 2007, compared to $163m the previous year.

Mozambique and the World Bank's lending arm, the International Finance Corporation, recently signed a U$3.1bn deal for tourism projects along the southern African state's 2 500km coastline.

- Reuters

- Reuters