Tourism Distribution Channels in the Northern 
                            Tourist Circuit of Tanzania 
                                              
                                              
                              Peter Judca Mkumbo 
                                              
                                              
                                              
                                         A thesis  
                   submitted to Victoria University of Wellington in partial 
                       fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of  
                              Master of Tourism Management 
                                              
                                              
                                           
                             Victoria University of Wellington 
                                          2010 
            
                                                                                          
                                          Acknowledgements 
                       
                      I would like to take this opportunity to thank numerous people who assisted me in 
                      getting  this  thesis  done.  Special  thanks  are  due  to  my  supervisors  Prof  Doug 
                      Pearce and Dr Adam Weaver who tirelessly provided me close supervision and 
                      excellent guidance throughout, from developing  the proposal to compiling the 
                      report. You are the best! Also, I am extremely grateful for the scholarship that 
                      NZAID offered to me without which my studies in New Zealand would not be 
                      possible. My extended thanks go to all New Zealanders as the scholarship fund 
                      that was provided to me came from taxes that you pay. Thank you all! 
                      Thank  you  to  the  Ministry  of  Natural  Resources  and  Tourism  and  Tanzania 
                      Tourist Board officials who gave me relevant documents for my thesis. I am also 
                      indebted  with  all  businesses  in  the  northern  tourist  circuit  of  Tanzania  which 
                      participated in this research; you volunteered to give me important information 
                      and your time, thank you very much! 
                      Finally, I would also like to thank my family and friends for their support and 
                      those who prayed for me, specifically my grandparents Aron and Safina Kaali. 
                      Thank you very much. You are the most valuable people in my life! Special 
                      thanks also to my parents, uncles, aunts, brothers and sisters for all your support 
                      to date. May Almighty God bless you all! Lastly, a special thank you goes to my 
                      classmates Rogerio Dias, Nguyen Thi Hong Hanh and Tina Rønhovde Tiller. You 
                      have been so supportive of me throughout this  tough journey. To all of you, 
                      mentioned and not mentioned, this research is a result of your generosity, support 
                      and humour during times of pressure. Thank you!    
               
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                                       Abstract 
           
                 This  study  investigates  the  structure  of  tourism  distribution  channels  in  the 
                 northern  tourist  circuit  of  Tanzania.  It  explores  factors  influencing  channel 
                 structures and also examines operational characteristics of the channels. It is a 
                 destination-based study that takes a supply-side approach. The study is based on 
                 in-depth  interviews  with  different  businesses  across  tourism  sector  at  the 
                 destination.  The  northern  tourist  circuit  is  the  heart  of  tourism  industry  in 
                 Tanzania; it is a core in a peripheral country. 
                 Tourists  in  the  northern  tourist  circuit  are  primarily  attracted  by  mountain 
                 climbing adventures, photographic and hunting safaris. Putting together different 
                 activities  involved  in  a  safari  or  adventure  product  requires  the  presence  of 
                 ground  tour  operators.  The  former  have  links  with  all  the  suppliers  at  the 
                 destination and are the most knowledgeable about the destination among channel 
                 members  in  the  destination.  There  is  a  complex  relationship  among  channel 
                 members in the northern tourist circuit which partly contributes to the complexity 
                 of  the  distribution  channels  used.  The  majority  of  tourists  who  visit  northern 
                 tourist  circuit  book  their  holidays  through  overseas  agents;  a  few  purchase 
                 directly  from  the  suppliers.  The  majority  of  those  who  shop  through  overseas 
                 agents are package or customized tourists while most independent travellers buy 
                 their holidays directly, often making multiple purchases. Ground tour operators in 
                 Kenya are  important  channel  members  as  well.  This  is  because  a  significant 
                 number of tourists who visit the northern tourist circuit come through Kenya and 
                 ground tour operators there pass them down to their counterparts in Tanzania. 
                 Hunting  tourists  access  the  destinations  through  professional  hunters,  either 
                 directly or through overseas marketing agents. Secondary activities like cultural 
                 tourism rely more on “at destination” distribution as their drawing power is less 
                 than wildlife resources and adventure attractions. 
                 Factors which influence the structure of distribution in the northern tourist circuit 
                 include size of the business, nature of the attraction, tourists‟ preference, distance 
                 from market to destination, lack of capital and marketing knowledge.  
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                 Channel performance is based on two main criteria: volume of clients the channel 
                 produces and the profit generated from the channel. Indirect channels produce 
                 more clients while direct channels are observed to generate more profit per client 
                 than indirect channels. 
                 Information  technology  is  mainly  used  for  creating  awareness  and 
                 communications.  All  the  businesses  interviewed  have  websites  for  those 
                 purposes.  
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