Maputo, Oct. 2, 2026 (Lusa) - The Mozambican Agency for Tourism Development and Investment (Anditur) and business leaders on Friday called for greater involvement of national operators in the tourism sector, arguing that the sector's growth must be based on enhancing Mozambican capital.
«The best hotels and lodges in this country should be managed and owned by Mozambicans. This is the major challenge we face,» Hélder Jauana, chair of Anditur, told the media on the sidelines of a meeting with the Confederation of Economic Associations of Mozambique (CTA) in Maputo.
He acknowledged the existence of various obstacles to investment in tourism, but argued that it is up to the State to create better conditions so that national operators can expand their presence in the sector.
«There are various constraints on investment in Mozambique's tourism sector and we, as the State, must work to remove these barriers,» he stated.
Jauana explained that the aim of the meeting was to launch a coordination mechanism between the agency and the CTA to identify and resolve difficulties faced by investors.
«As for the potential that everyone says Mozambique has, we need to move from potential to realisation. And it is entrepreneurs who bring this about,» he said.
For her part, the CTA's Vice-President for Tourism, Salma Kamalissouf, considered that the creation of Anditur could help to better position Mozambican businesses within the tourism industry.
«This agency will help position our businesses in the tourism sector,» she said.
She also argued for a clear strategy for the various national tourist destinations, including defining market segments the country aims to develop.
«We must define, at the national level, what kind of tourism we want in each destination,» she stated.
Whilst acknowledging the importance of foreign investment, she considered that it must generate real benefits for the country and help to raise the quality of the services offered to tourists.
«For a foreign investor to invest in Mozambique, we would like them to invest better than we do and to offer more to our Mozambique,» she said.
For her, the forthcoming international tourism conference – scheduled for November in Inhambane, which will bring together businesspeople, investors, tour operators, public bodies and other stakeholders in the sector's value chain – should also serve to promote projects by domestic investors and connect them with opportunities that may arise through the new agency.
«We will use the Tourism Summit to ask businesspeople to bring projects to this conference and ensure that these projects are recognised at national level by this agency, thereby providing more opportunities for Mozambican entrepreneurs,» she said.
According to Kamalissouf, the initiative could help raise the profile of domestic investors in a sector where Mozambican businesses continue to seek to strengthen their presence in the country's main tourist destinations.
The meeting between Anditur and the CTA took place as part of the new agency's first institutional contacts with representatives of the private sector, with the two bodies agreeing to set up technical teams to monitor matters relating to the business environment and the development of tourism.
Established by a Cabinet decree on 25 May this year, Anditur's mission is to coordinate and promote the development of tourism, facilitate investment and position Mozambique as a leading regional and international tourist destination.
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