Mozambican tourism and its hotel sector have had to adopt new strategies to address falling demand due to the fear of political instability along with infrastructure shortages, limited access and a lack of marketing. Hotel occupancies across the country are currently around 30%.
According to Nadira Khan , Sales Manager of Melia Maputo Sky, a corporate hotel based in Maputos Central C business district, Melia is one of many hotels experiencing a lack of demand, not only from its biggest market, the South African corporate market, but also from other international markets.
During the 10th FIKANI International Tourism Fair in Maputo, it was revealed that South Africa is the main country of origin for visiting tourists, representing 33,5% of all arrivals, followed by Portugal with 10,3%, the UK and the US with 6,2% each.
We are not seeing increases in demand for MICE facilities and hotels, because this year we have elections, and that is causing a little damage to the market. Although we did have a small increase, it was not as much as we expected, said Khan
Demand is low, and we are competing with other hotels. We have some neighbouring five star-hotels charging the same prices as those with three stars. Melia has had to create packages with conference facilities and accommodation to try and attract clients.
