Dorine Reinstein
Mozambique’s tourism
industry has flourished over the past few years, but renewed tensions and
violence between the Frelimo government forces and opposition Renamo is
currently threatening the destination’s tourist appeal.
Conflict between the two
opposing parties saw the country fighting a 16-year devastating civil war.
Although peace was established in 1992, tensions flared up again in 2013 and
have been ongoing ever since. The conflict escalated in February this year when
the opposition party’s militia threatened to set up checkpoints on some of the
country’s main roads. It even led the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to issue
a recommendation for travelers to be aware of the increasing tensions, as armed
attacks with fatalities had been reported.
“I think we have been
back at war for about three months now,” said Blake Gray, director of Connection, a tourism marketing firm in
Mozambique. He explains that during the past month, there have been two
attempts on the Renamo leader's life, and fighting has been taking place in
Tete and Zambezia provinces for a couple of months.
However, according to
tour operators and lodge owners in Mozambique, it is important to note that the
tensions and violence are only taking place in isolated areas in the country.
The Foreign & Commonwealth Office has not issued a warning for
Mozambique travel, but it has issued a travel advisory for portions of the EN1
road near the Save-Muxungue and Gorongosa-Caia sections, where fatalities have
been reported. The U.S. State Department, meanwhile, has not issued a travel
warning or advisory for Mozambique; its Mozambique page has not been updated in
more than a year.
Tour operators and
hoteliers also have warned tourists to avoid travel around the Gorongosa area
specifically and Sofala, Manica and Zambezia provinces. The beach resorts are
absolutely safe, they said.
Richard
Hawkins, Minor Hotel Group’s regional
director of hotel operations for Africa, said that although no one can ever guarantee
the safety of any traveler to any destination, it is important to have all the
facts and make an informed decision that is not influenced by rumors,
sensational media or poor research.
Hawkins
explained that most tourist resorts are more than 300 miles away from the
tensions. He said: “Mozambique’s coastline spans almost [1,700 miles]. The
closest town to the Anantara Bazaruto Island Resort is Vilanculos, and this is
almost [320 miles] away from Sofala province, where the political tensions are
taking place. The resort is then still accessed via light aircraft transfer
from Vilanculos via a 15-minute flight or one-hour boat transfer. This is true
for the other resorts and lodges in Bazaruto as well as the Quirimbas, which is
over [800 mile] from Sofala.”
“Renamo are attacking the
government, not travelers on our popular beaches,” added Gray, who explained
that this is a political struggle and is by no means aimed at travelers.
“We
believe that Mozambique’s beautiful archipelagos, Vilanculos and the Quirimbas,
remain completely safe and highly desirable to travelers looking for a unique
combination of understated luxury and an authentic island experience,” said Go2Africa’s
product manager,Liesel van Zyl.
Van
Zyl added that the mainland can be largely avoided by flying direct into Pemba
in northern Mozambique or Vilanculos and then taking a reputable boat or
helicopter transfer to the final destination.
Mozambique-based
tour operator Kevin Record warned visitors not to be influenced by
sensational media coverage of the issue.
“A negative perception in the media will, however,
obviously impact on inquiries, and people will steer clear of the destination
because of this,” Record said. “Travel advisories will likely be to specific
areas like they were last year, but again possible travelers will view the
whole country as unsafe.”