Abstract:
Meru District Council is facing the problem of poor development of tourism industry due to poor
implementation of government policies related to this industry. In response to the problem, the
current study aimed to assess the effects of government policies on the development of tourism
industry in Tanzania. A case of Meru District Council. The study was guided by three specific
objectives which were to; - evaluate the interdependence between government policies and
investment in the tourism industry in Tanzania, identify the government policies implemented to
promote the development of the tourism industry in Tanzania as well as examine the relationship
between government policies and infrastructure development of the tourism industry in Tanzania.
The study was guided by the two theories namely;- Policy diffusion theory and Sustainable
Development theory to guide this study effectively. The study employed a mixed method case study
design. The study involved a sample size of 144 respondents with stratified and purposive sampling
techniques. Data were collected through questionnaires and interviews. Questionnaire data were
analyzed through descriptive statistics while interview data were analyzed through content analysis.
The study findings discovered that there is close relationship between government policies and
development of tourism industry in Tanzania. The government of Tanzania has tried to put an effort
on policy formulation related to tourism activities however there is poor emphasis in their
implementation resulting into unsatisfactory tourism investments as well as poor infrastructure
systems. The study findings revealed most of the surveyed respondents strongly indicated that the
government policies are real not implemented contrary to the expectations of stakeholders. The
study concluded that basing on the study findings, this situation has been affected by several
challenges such as poor government support and lack of awareness among the community and
stakeholders. Thus the government must support effectively this industry by implementing the
existing government policies and cooperate well with all tourism stakeholders. The study
recommends policy makers at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism to adhere the
decentralization by devolution policy by allowing the tourism stakeholders to participate fully in the
policy formulation process and implementation so as to enhance the development and growth of
tourism industry in Tanzania.
