Tourism Statistics Bulletin
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Statistics Sierra Leone An Effort under the NSDS April, 2011 CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS………………………………... i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT…………………………..….... iii 1.0 INTRODUCTION………………………………………… 1 1.1 The Legal and Strategic Context of Tourism Development in Sierra Leone……………………………………………………….. 1 1.2 The Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Affairs (MoTCA)…………… 2 1.2.1 Policy Objectives of the Ministry……………………………………. 2 1.3 The National Tourist Board of Sierra Leone………………………. 3 1.3.1 Services Provided by the Board…………………………………….. 3 1.4 New Tourism Strategic Action Plan………………………………… 4 1.5 Strategic Policies/Regulations and Action Plan for the 4 Tourism Sector (2009 – 2014)………………………………………. 1.5.1 Key Government Policies & Regulations…………………………... 4 1.5.2 Strategies/Activities of the Tourism Sector (2009 – 2014)………. 5 1.6 Comparative Advantage of Sierra Leone as Unique Tourist Destination…………………………………………………… 5 1.7 The Private Sector and the Tourism Industry in Sierra Leone…... 7 2.0 TOURISTS/VISTIOR’S ARRIVALS (1988-2008)…… 9 2.1 Arrivals by Region……………………………………………………. 10 2.2 Overnight Stay In Hotels and Similar Establishments……………. 11 2.2.1 Hotel Occupancy Rates……………………………………………… 12 2.2.2 Registered/Licensed Establishments and Beds in Use (1999 to 2008)………………………………………………………… 13 2.2.3 Total Beds Available and Beds in Used in Hotels 14 (2006-2008)…………………………………………………………… 3.0 TRENDS IN REVENUE GENERATED FROM LEVIES AND REGISTRATION FEES………………... 15 3.1 Employment in the Tourism Industry……………………………….. 16 3.2 Expenditure by Visitors……………………………………………… 17 LIST OF FIGURES Fig. 1.1: Total Number of Visitors 1988-2008……………………………….. 9 Fig. 1.2: Total Numbers of Arrivals by Purpose (1998-2008)……………… 10 Fig. 1.3: Region of Origin of Visitors…………………………………………. 10 Fig. 1.4: Total Number of Tourists Accommodation Compared to Total Number of Nights Spent in Hotels…………………………… 11 Fig. 1.5: Average Occupancy Rates from 2000 to 2008…………………… 12 Fig. 1.6: Change in the Number of Registered Tourist Establishments (1999-2008)………………………………………... 13 Fig. 1.7: Percentage Distribution of Type of Registered Tourist Establishments in 2007 and 2008………………………………….. 14 Fig. 1.8: Number of Beds Available and Beds in Use in 2006 to 2008…... 14 i Fig. 1.9: Trends in Revenue Generated from Levies and Registration/License Fees in Million Leones……………………… 15 Fig. 2.1: Trends in Total Employment in the Tourist Industry (1998-2008)…………………………………………………………... 16 Fig. 2.2: Total Employment in the Tourism Industry by Source of Employment……………………………………………… 17 Fig. 2.3: Total Expenditure in Million Leones by Arriving Visitors by Purpose of Visit………………………………………………………. 18 APPENDIX 1 - TABLES OF SELECTED TOURISM 19 INDICATORS………………………………………………………… Table 1.1: Monthly Visitor Arrivals by Air by Purpose of Visit -2008……….. 20 Table 1.2: Monthly Visitor Arrivals by Air by Purpose of Visit – 2007………. 20 Table 1.3: Summary of Monthly Visitor Arrivals by Air by Purpose of Visit 1998-2008……………………………………………………. 21 Table 2.1: Monthly Visitor Arrivals by Air by Place of Residence – 2008….. 22 Table 2.2: Monthly Visitor Arrivals by Air by Place of Residence – 2007….. 23 Table 2.3: Summary of Visitor Arrivals by Air by Place of Residence – 1988-2008…………………………………………….. 24 Table 2.4: Total Overnight Stay of Arriving Visitors by Purpose of Visit (1998-2008)…………………………………………………………... 25 Table 2.5: Total Overnight Stay of Arriving Visitors by Place of Residence(1998-2008)……………………………………………… 25 Table 2.6: Type of Registered/Licensed Establishments……………………. 26 Table 2.6a: Number of Beds in Use in Hotels( 2006 -2008) by Region……… 27 Table 2.6b: Number of Beds in use Guest Houses( 2006 -2008) by Region…………………………………………………………….. 27 Table 2.7: Revenue generated from Levies, License /Registration Fees from Tourism Sector(1998-2008)………………………….. 27 Table 2.8: Visitor Expenditure by Purpose of Visit (2006-2008)…………….. 28 Table 2.8a: Visitor Expenditure by Purpose of Visit (2006-2008) in United Dollars…………………………………………………….. 28 Table 2.8b: Estimated Accommodation Expenditure by Type of Visitor (2006-2008)…………………………………………………………... 28 Table 2.9: Total Employment in Tourism Industry by Type of Establishment (1998-2008)…………………………………………. 29 APPENDIXES - DIRECTORY OF REGISTERED TOURIST ESTABLISHMENT FOR YEAR 2008 ……... 30 4.0: Hotels………………………………………………………………….. 31 5.0: Guest Houses………………………………………………………… 36 6.0: Restaurants…………………………………………………………… 46 7.0: Snack Bars……………………………………………………………. 52 8.0: Travel Agencies……………………………………………………… 54 9.0: Tourism Handling Agencies………………………………………… 56 10.0: Night Clubs…………………………………………………………… 57 11.0: Casinos……………………………………………………………….. 60 ii Acknowledgement The production of this bulletin was made possible through a partnership between Statistics Sierra Leone and the Ministry of Tourism through the National Tourist Board (NTB) under the National Strategy for the Development of Statistics (NSDS), with funds from the African Development (ADB). Statistics Sierra Leone thanks the National Tourist Board for providing the Office Space for the Statistician attached to the Ministry of Tourism and for providing the data used in this report. Particular thanks go to Mr. Cecil Williams (General Manager) of the National Tourist Board for actively participating in the writing of this report. We thank Mr. Abu Bakarr Turay, Offer-in-Charge of Economic Statistics Division, for coordinating and editing of the report Special thanks go to Messrs, Head External Trade Statistics Section, Head, Business and Industry Statistics Section, Samuel Turay, Head, Price and Labour Statistics Section and Mr. Momodu J Bundu, SSL Statistician attached to the Ministry of Tourism for writing portions of this report. However, the final responsibility for any technical mistakes in the report are those of Mr. Momodu J Bundu the Statistician attached to the Ministry of Tourism who coordinated the data collection and put together the final report. Many thanks also go to the Administrative Manager, Mr. Ahmed Sayboum Kanu and the Finance Manager Mr. Babafemi Aaron-Johnson for their positive contributions to the production, publication and dissemination of the final output. Finally, our thanks go to the African Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of Sierra Leone for funding the exercise. Mohamed King-Koroma Abu Bakarr Turay Acting Statistician General Officer-in-Charge, Economic Statistics Division iii 1.0 INTRODUCTION Tourism is arguably the largest industry and one of the fastest growing industries in the World today. It is estimated to represent over 4 trillion dollars, or 10 percent of the World’s Gross Domestic Product (WTTC Stat.2006). The industry supplies over 230 million jobs and over $800 billion in tax revenues internationally (UN/WTO Stat.2007). Tourism is a major generator of foreign exchange revenues and facilitates regional and international trade and investment linkages. It is the principal Foreign Exchange earner and the backbone of the economy of many small states and island states like the Gambia, Seychelles, Maldives, etc. Sierra Leone has strong potentials for tourism industry. It has excellent beaches and islands, mountains and rich biodiversity, interesting wildlife, friendliness of the people and rich socio-cultural heritage; and it occupies a special place in the world history of anti-slavery movement as ‘the land of freedom’ – hence the name Freetown of it’s Capital City. Since the 1980s, the country has been developing a small but, a thriving tourism industry. The end of the civil conflict in 2002 led to renewed arrivals by business travelers, as well as members of the Diaspora visiting friends and relatives. This in turn has stimulated some investment in the hotel and guesthouse infrastructure in Freetown. For example, the Chinese investment in Bintumani Hotel; the NASSIT investment in Tourism infrastructure and the construction of new hotels such as Hotel Bamoi, and Hotel Kimbima, etc by other domestic investors all form part of increased investment in the tourism sector in the country. Within the framework of the National Strategy for the Development of Statistics (NSDS), the Government of Sierra Leone in 2008 approved the deployment of Statisticians from Statistics Sierra Leone (SSL) to eight line ministries including the Ministry of Tourism to help collect and compile statistical indicators in support of decision-making. This bulletin is part of the effort under the NSDS to provide data on the Tourism industry in Sierra Leone. This Bulletin is the first in a series of bulletins that will follow year after year. Consequently, data included in this bulletin have an official character. Therefore, any correction or changes received after this will be included in the next edition of the Bulletin. The main topics covered in this bulletin include data on tourist arrivals, country of origin of tourists, hotel occupancy rates, tourist expenditure etc. 1.1 The Legal and Strategic Context of Tourism Development in Sierra Leone The Government of Sierra Leone recognizing the importance of tourism development established the Hotels and Tourist Board in 1964. In these early years, the growth and development of the tourism industry in the country was relatively slow and lacked a specific direction. There was no Act or policy to guide tourism development in the country. Key industry actors were left wholly unregulated. This state of affairs continued for close to a 1 decade. In 1973, however, the GoSL decided to establish the Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Affairs (MoTCA) in order to harness the immense tourism potential in Sierra Leone,