Singita tourism group plans to build three hotels in Mozambique

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Singita tourism group plans to build three hotels in Mozambique

9:38 CAT | 20 Jun 2025

File photo: Go2Africa

The Singita tourism group, which operates 19 projects in four African countries, has announced its intention to build up to three hotels in the Bazaruto archipelago in southern Mozambique.

The intention was announced by the executive director of the ecotourism and environmental preservation group, Luke Bailes, after presenting the project to the Mozambican President, Daniel Chapo, in Maputo on Wednesday, guaranteeing the government’s support.

“We met with the President to discuss some initiatives in the area of tourism. We are looking to build two, maybe three, hotels, ‘lodges’, in Vilanculos, in the Bazaruto archipelago,” said the executive director of the Singita group (“place of miracles”, in the African language Changana), after the meeting.

The Bazaruto Islands, one of the most sought-after places by tourists in Mozambique, are located in the province of Inhambane.

The Singita group describes itself as an “ecotourism and conservation brand” and is “committed to preserving and protecting Africa’s wilderness for future generations”. It opened its first lodge in 1993 and now has operations in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Rwanda.

“Singita employs hundreds of people in Africa and operates 19 exclusive lodges, camps and villas in six locations spanning four countries – each a peaceful sanctuary celebrating the beauty of the African forest,” the group describes.

Mozambique’s revenue from foreign tourists exceeded €200 million in 2024, but the government expects this to reach €360 million by 2029, with the sector’s contribution rising to 6% of GDP.

“Attracting major international events, positioning the country as an attractive destination for business and event tourism and other investments”, and “fostering tourism marketing mechanisms, with a strong focus on the digital component” are some of the priorities defined by the Government for the sector in the Government’s Five-Year Programme (PQG) 2025-2029.

This is the first PQG of the Executive led by President Daniel Chapo, who took office last January. The document has since been approved by parliament and indicates that the volume of revenue from international tourism in 2024 amounted to more than 221.2 million dollars (203.9 million euros), with a target of 391.9 million dollars (361.3 million euros) in 2029.

According to the Government’s forecasts, tourism’s contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected to rise from 4.02% in 2024 to 6.0% in 2029, at the end of this PQG, with the number of workers in the sector growing from 14,603 to 22,115 in the same period.

In 2021, the sector was worth 2.46% of GDP and two years later the number of arrivals to the country soared to over 870,000, with 87% coming from the African continent and 6% from Europe, namely Portugal, which was then driven by the decision to exempt tourists from 29 countries from visas, as part of the economic acceleration measures defined by the Government.

“Requalifying and restructuring” tourist destinations to promote investment opportunities in tourism and “encouraging public-private investment in infrastructures that boost tourism” are other priorities of the PQG until 2029.

Lusa reported last February that almost 210 ventures in the tourism sector began operating in Mozambique in 2024, despite the downturn in the area due to the post-election tension that has been felt throughout the country since October.

According to budget execution data from January to December, in the tourism sector “208 businesses began operating”, of which 68 were accommodation establishments.

However, at the end of December, Mozambican businesspeople estimated losses in tourism at at least 500 million meticais (7.5 million euros), with the cancellation of tourist reservations due to post-election protests during the Christmas and New Year period.

Source: Lusa