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The Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA) has announced intentions to offer loans to tour operators and hoteliers in East Africa. The CBA has branches in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda, with efforts under way to open in South Sudan as well.
According to Tanzania Daily News, Gift Shoko, the CEO of CBA, said as tour operators and hotels made up a large portion of CBA’s clientele “we have thus decided to come up with a special loaning scheme targeting players in the tourism and hospitality industries”.
Shoko explained that as investments in the tourism sector required large amounts of money, CBA would arrange a “single borrowing limit” of up to $50m (€41.6m) provided they had a thorough business plan to accompany their application. He went on to explain that assets for tour operators and hotels could be expensive, using the cost of a fleet of vehicles as an example.
“Arusha, being the pivotal precinct in Tanzania’s tourism, and headquarters of the East African Community, will be the first to benefit from the new loaning plan for tourism,” he added. The loans are likely to assist the Tanzania Tourism Board with its plan to welcome two million visitors by 2020.
Source: tourismupdate.co.za