Tanzania is developing a contingency plan to restore confidence in the tourism sector due to the threat of Ebola.

The outbreak of deadly Ebola in West Africa has put the country’s $1.9 million tourism sector under renewed pressure.

Tourism, a major foreign currency earner — surpassing gold — had begun to recover from the shocks of 2008’s global financial crisis, which almost brought the sector to its knees.

Key industry players say tourist arrivals in Tanzania have dropped by 25 per cent, despite the country being almost 5,600km away from the Ebola-stricken countries of West Africa.

The Tanzania Association of Tour Operators (Tato) said travel inquiries from overseas also fell by 50 per cent since the outbreak of Ebola in West Africa, compelling them to start working on contingency plan to save the industry.

READ: Ebola fears hurt east Africa's tourism

Tato chairman Willy Chambulo said they are in talks with the government and Hotel Association of Tanzania (HAT) over the possibility of relaxing terms and conditions of booking cancellation.

“Tour operators are willing to refund tourists in case Ebola outbreak occurs in Tanzania anytime, so we are consulting the state and hotels over the deal as part of contingency plan” Mr Chambulo told The EastAfrican.

Tato believes that this will restore confidence among tourists despite the fact that no Ebola case has been reported in East African region.

Acknowledging that Ebola crisis had impacted the travel industry even more than terrorism, Natural Resources and Tourism Minister Lazaro Nyalandu said the government will not impose new taxes on the tourism sector in the next two years.

“Tanzania and East African region are probably be safer than Europe and the US because of low human traffic between East Africa and West Africa. But in case of outbreak, we are ready to ensure safety for our guests,” he said.

Mr Nyalandu also hinted that his ministry was finalising an ambitious rebranding plan in its latest effort to position the country as one of Africa’s leading tourist and business hub.

The strategy involves the creation of a new slogan, symbol and design in a bid to develop a fresh and differentiated identity in the minds of consumers, investors and competitors.

It entails radical changes to logos, names, image, marketing strategy and advertising with a view to attracting tourists and investors in tourism industry.

Mr Nyalandu said rebranding strategy is to make the country the destination of choice for visitors and investors.

Sources said the government was doing a self-critical analysis to identify loopholes and make the country attractive to tourists and investors.

Mr Nyalandu said technocrats are analysing the 1999 Tourism Policy to ascertain if it was still viable to turnaround the industry.

As part of the rebranding strategy, the country expects to invest $1 million in preparation of a 60-second commercial video clip on tourist attractions and investment potential, which will be aired on BBC and CNN.

This is expected to be an eye opener for the outside world to know and appreciate Tanzania’s richness in tourist attractions and potential investment opportunities.