Maputo, Mozambique, 21 May – Mozambican hunting tourism has recently seen significant growth, with 2006’s revenues rising by 27.6 percent year on year to 12.2 million meticals, according to the country’s Tourism Ministry.

In terms of safari tourists, the figures point to 352 people entering the country, as compared with 282 in 2005, which is a growth rate of 24.8 percent.

Speaking last week in Maputo, during a meeting on the 2007 Hunting Season which is due to begin on June 1, Fernanda Matsinhe, the permanent secretary of the Tourism Ministry said that hunting was also a sustainable activity.

The meeting on the Hunting Season is held annually and is attended by representatives of the Tourism Ministry and tourist operators to discuss the main issues of concern to the sector.

During the meeting the participants raised the issue of the legal weakness of hunting area. After the war many hunting areas were occupied by people and in some areas interest in wood for logging in conservation areas is causing conflict.

The hunting areas are, according to Matsinhe, public delimited areas, for hunting tourism and sports hunting, in which activities require a contract to be signed between the operator and the State.

She added that in its five-year plan the Mozambican government pointed to the tourism sector as one of the key sectors in the fight against absolute poverty, as it is able to provide direct and indirect employment to the population, as well as improving the living conditions of Mozambican citizens. (macauhub)