Bank of Tanzania Governor Emmanuel Tutuba has urged owners and operators of tourist hotels in the country to commence offering foreign currency exchange services to reduce indiscriminate exchange of such currencies.
He told hotel owners and operators of hotels in Dar es Salaam on March 14, 2024 that amendments to the Foreign Exchange (Bureau de Change) Regulations of 2023 provide room for hotels to serve their clients need to exchange their currencies.
The basis of the meeting, attended by owners and operators of 27 hotels in Dar es Salaam region stems from the central bank’s decision to amend the Foreign Exchange (Bureau de Change) Regulations of 2023. These regulations allow tourist hotels to obtain licenses to provide foreign currency exchange services to their clients.
"You will recall that in October 2023, we amended the Foreign Exchange (Bureau de Change) Regulations to establish an official window allowing 3 to 5-star hotels to begin offering foreign exchange services," Governor Tutuba stated.
Furthermore, Governor Tutuba added that the decision to amend the regulations was based on research findings, which revealed that formalization of bureaus de change did not extend to hotels, thus exacerbating the black market of foreign currencies.
"The amendments to those regulations were based on research we conducted, which found that the operations of foreign exchange bureaus had not yet reached hotels. However, we discovered that many hotels were receiving clients who paid in foreign currencies, but some of those currencies were being exchanged indiscriminately," he said.
Moreover, the Governor noted that the initiative would enable the central bank to obtain crucial data and information relevant for stability of the financial sector.
"As regulators of the financial sector, this step will be an opportunity for us to directly access data because hotels will be responsible through a reporting system to provide us with information about their transactions and assist us in improving the business environment in the country," he said.
On his part, the Finance and Administration Manager of Onomo Hotel, Mr. Gosberth Kamugisha, stated that the changes in the foreign currency exchange regulations present an opportunity for increased revenue for tourist-receiving hotels and will bolster the country's economy.