In the recent past, mining and tourism have been the fastest growing sectors in Tanzania with average growth rates of 10% and 5.5% between 1998 and 2002. this growth has coincided with a relatively strong performance in non-traded sectors such as construction, transport and communications.

Agriculture's performance was less notable, with growth declining from 5.5 to 4.0% in 2003, due to droughts in most parts of the country. Agriculture, however, remains the largest sector of the economy, contributing more than 40% of the gross domestic product (gDp), 70% of employment, and a large share of foreign exchange earnings.

Total employment in the tourism sector was almost 200,000 in 2004. From an operational point of view, room occupancy was 53% in 2004 up six points from 2003; the average length of stay was 11 days and the average daily expenditure was Us$188 for visitors on package tours and Us$119 for those traveling alone.