What are the determinants of international tourism in Tanzania?

International tourism has since been recognized as a conduit for poverty alleviation and infrastructure development. Despite the sector’s importance in Africa in terms of its contribution to economic growth, foreign exchange earnings, and employment, very few studies have attempted to uncover its potential. In the case of Tanzania, where the sector’s importance rank high in the country’s development strategy, only two studies exist, and none on the factors that influence international tourism demand. Therefore, this study makes an important contribution to tourism economics literature in Africa by investigating the relevant determinants of international tourism demand using panel data for Tanzania’s top fifteen tourists’ source countries during the 2000–2016 period. Results, based on various panel data estimation techniques, indicate that income of tourists and infrastructure development in Tanzania, are the two main determinants of international tourism demand for Tanzania. These findings hold across model and sample specifications. From a policy perspective, the government of Tanzania and stakeholders should work towards making Tanzania tourism products more competitive by developing/improving infrastructure in the country. Moreover, there should be a policy that encourages developing tourism packages that fit the demands of tourists from relatively high income countries, and also make conscious efforts to market these products in the target countries. Lowering the cost of living and improving the exchange rate are also some of the areas that the government could work on to help grow the tourism industry.