swiss mountain lodge

lushoto - mkuzi

b u s i n e s s s t a t e m e n t p l a n

contact: mr. daeppen josef

telephone: +2 55 (0)78-446 92 92

e-mail: info@sml-tz.ch

web: http://www.sml-tz.ch

for feedbacks, suggestions, up dates and ideas please contact the above

edition 01 - march 2012

text copyright © 2012 josef daeppen

charts and maps copyright © 2012 josef daeppen

photographs copyright © 2012 josef daeppen

table of content:

1.0 executive summary1.1 mission statement1.2 business investment details1.3 accommodation and buildings of swiss mountain lodge1.4 financial requirements and figures1.5 financial investment cost summary1.6 current investors, partners and supporters1.7 proposed company growth in comparison to a related project1.8 existing data’s, documents, assets and contacts1.9 summaries of management’s future plans

2.0 market analyses and strategy2.1 tanzania - the land of opportunities2.2 tanga region2.3 usambara mountains - an up coming destination in tanzania2.4 swiss mountain lodge location in the usambara mountains2.5 tourist attractions in the usambara mountains2.6 tourist attractions in the region tanga

3.0 hospitality industry description and outlook3.1 tanzania’s visitor survey - market trends and growths3.2 visitor expenditure pattern3.3 swiss mountain lodge and its target market3.4 figures & experienced findings of a similar lodge in the usambara mountains3.5 visitor market segment and product analyses3.6 competitive analyses3.7 keys to success3.8 marketing analyses review

4.0 business description of swiss mountain lodge4.1 mission of swiss mountain lodge4.2 location of swiss mountain lodge4.3 products and services of swiss mountain lodge4.4 layout of swiss mountain lodge4.5 services and activities of swiss mountain lodge en detail4.6 future services and activities of swiss mountain lodge en detail4.7 future market segments and market growth analyses for swiss mountain lodge

5.0 organization and personnel plan of staff and management5.1 profile of mr. daeppen josef5.2 staff and organizational structure of swiss mountain lodge5.3 staff requirement index5.4 salary structure and number of working staff

6.0 marketing & sales management6.1 unique selling propositions6.2 corporate design - logo6.3 pricing6.4 communication and sales activity proposal6.5 customers from prior businesses6.6 networking - strategic alliances6.7 how to perform and increase community strategic alliances

7.0 setting up swiss mountain lodge7.1 year 1 - construction phase7.2 year 2 - first year of operation7.3 year 3 - second year of operation7.4 year 4 - third year of operation7.5 year 5 - fourth year of operation7.6 year 5 + +7.7 summary of management’s future plans

8.0 financial and funding requests

9.0 community corporate tasks9.1 social responsibilities

9.2 economic responsibilities

9.3 environmental responsibilities

9.4 “responsible tourism” and the (triple) bottom line

9.5 marketing of the corporate responsibilities

9.6 summaries of corporate responsibilities

10.0 epilogues

11.0 appendices, attachments and supporting documents

expression of thanks and acknowledgements

following people have deeply contributed over the past months to the swiss mountainlodge business plan, and without their commitments, dedication and strenuous efforts,this business plan would not have been possible.

philipp hildebrand

daniela eiletz - kaube

daniel sack

ultimately, the business plan would not have been put into action without the strongmoral support and assistance of those people. their physically powerful believe in theproposed project, the financial patronage and the professional guidance as well theactive cooperation was a forceful significance indication of the feasibility andachievability of the planned project called swiss mountain lodge in lushoto - mkuzi

1.0 executive summary

1.1 mission statement

swiss mountain lodge will become the premier supplier of sustainable hospitality and touristservices in the western arc usambara mountains

swiss mountain lodge will provide high-quality accommodation (self - contained chalets), on-site activities and sustainable eco - tourism activities, e.g. tree planting, hiking tours, culturalexcursions, bike and motorbike tours and other activities to visitors from all over the world

swiss mountain lodge will cater for the needs of international visitors who look for anextraordinary trip extension after the safari and who seek cultural interaction with locals, withsustainable and eco - friendly activities to support local communities (see chapter no. 9)

1.2 business investment details

name of business: swiss mountain lodge limited (sml ltd) address: p.o. box ???? - lushoto - mkuzi - tanzania - east africa head office: as above proposed business start: 2014 founder - board members: josef daeppen (director) - switzerland

philipp hildebrand (director) - switzerlanddaniel sack (secretary) - germany

legal form: limited company (as per memorandum of understanding) asregistered under tic (tanzania investment centre) legislative

authorised share capital: $ 800`000.- share number: 160 shares to $ 5`000.- free share capital: $ 695`000.- profit distribution per year: 5% per share (payment in each case after the annual general

meeting) first dividend distribution: year 4 of operating with a profit distribution rate of 6,5% to

compensate the deficit of the first three years running period: buyout subsequent to 15 years existing share holders: mr. daeppen josef with 10 shares

philipp hildebrand with 10 sharesdaniel sack with 1 share

the investment amount is generous calculated (considering national general price increasesand inflation rates) moreover remaining money will immediately be paid back related to theindividual share percentage and after completion of the project

projected number of employees is approximately 34 permanent staff workers (excludingdirectors & secretary)

location of business is mkuzi - lushoto, western arc usambara mountains, tanzania, eastafrica

the company shall have an annual general meeting which should be attended by allinvestors and shall be conducted once a year, when all documents and accounts areapproved and audited. the annual general meeting shall have the following procedures:

o receive and review the annual report and accounts for the respective yearo approve next years budget with possible project plans and other proposalso it shall be the final say in all matters pertaining to the companyo an extraordinary general meeting can be conducted if the board or majority of

the investors call for it

the swiss mountain lodge board members are the company founders as mentioned above.the board shall be the representatives of the company in all normal transactions andappearances

the final decision making will be on the simple majority of investors attending the annualgeneral meeting

responsibilities and activities of the board are e.g.o prepare future project plans concerning i.e. marketing, operation, activities etc.o controlling swiss mountain lodges financial movementso approve employments of senior posts existing with swiss mountain lodge, and

make any decisions necessary to run the company efficientlyo monitoring swiss mountain lodges day to day activities, by giving semiannual

reports to the investorso signing contracts (i.e. between swiss mountain lodge and e.g. agents, donors,

tour operators, contractors etc.).o terminate or / and reject workers due to misconduct and any other bad

behavior which shall endanger or destroy the reputation of the company

the company shall have a common seal which shall bear in the name of “the tic (tanzaniainvestment centre) registered company as swiss mountain lodge limited” (sml-ltd)

every one of the swiss mountain lodge investors will have the option to build their particularprivate cottage on the second building site. this will stay as a private property nonethelessafter buyout of the shares. this option will be an individual negotiation subject in each case

1.3 accommodation and buildings of swiss mountain lodge

five independent twin room bungalows (chalets) each room sleeping maximum of 4 people.the two sleeping rooms are inter-connected through a relaxing comfy lounge (with fireplace,sitting area, dining area, etc.)

maximum capacity of the 5 twin room chalets will be 40 guests in totally main house with a reception area, office and a curio shop, internet corner etc. the same main house will enclose a restaurant with a veranda together amongst a divided

recreational area with a fireplace on one part and a cosy bar on the other section. the indoorrestaurant is prepared to accommodate 40 guests with additional space of the verandacomponent of 20 guest’s and the recreational area with bar an added 20 guest’s

a large practical and functional kitchen with a pizza oven and outside bbq area is consideredin the same main house

projected are other compacted construction style buildings, e.g. staff quarter, rooms fordrivers, laundry and sheltered drying areas, storage rooms, carpenter work shop etc.

the complete buildings are planned in a way, to keep the unique authentic environmentpicture of the setting unspoiled. this will be realized by landscaping measures (plants,flowers, trees, rock garden arrangements etc.) as well with the selection of particular naturaland colour matching building materials. all electric supply lines are planned to be placedunderground to avoid uninviting scenery. all those aspects will be taken into account to givethe swiss mountain lodge customer the real swiss alp feeling in an unique african setting withno noise pollution, no light effluence etc. but with most possible privacy and relaxingconfidence

1.4 financial requirements and figures

the financial requirements to realize the swiss mountain lodge project are estimated with $800`000.- (see chapter no. 1.5 below and chapter 8.0)

$ 25`000.- are required to close the deficit cap of year one of operation. this deficit cap will dropin year two to $ 6`000.- despite the fact while entering the third year will bring a small profit ofabout $ 25`000.- which should be re-invested back into the project to improve belatedrecognised inadequate issues and obstacles (for budget forecast see enclosures no. 3 / 4 / 5 /6)

if the scheduled scenario will come into work, swiss mountain lodge will be definitely profitablein year four of operation. the projected profit forecast of year four is considered to be between $70`000.- and $ 80`000.- (for budget - sales and turnover forecast see enclosures no. 7 / 8 / 9)

the estimated financial requirement figures below enclose and take in consideration all requiredequipment as:

cutlery’s and crockery’s etc. kitchen gears and utensils in general beddings, mattresses, linen etc. furniture’s, accessories, lamps etc. outfits and decors in generally refrigerators, deep freezing units etc.

office equipment and accessories stock of foodstuff and beverage for start up amount to obtain and proceed all necessary documents planting of trees, flowers and shrubbery (includes the seedlings)

not included in the estimate are:

start up requirements for farming activities (can be done with a trivial amount) building of the rock garden in combination with the herb garden small other landscaping measures

1.5 financial investment cost summary

item description units cost in $ remarks

twin room chalets with lounge 5 292`000.- according ground plans see atenclosure no. 12

main building with infrastructure 1 180`000.- according ground plans see atenclosure no. 13

workers quarter, laundry & stores 1 30`000.- according ground plans see atenclosure no. 14

waste & refusal disposal withadditional shelter for variouspurposes

1 3`000.- according plot layout plans see atenclosures no. 16 and 17

carpenter work shop with store 1 21`000.- according plot layout plans see atenclosures no. 16 and 17

guest pergolas 5 6`000.- according plot layout plans see atenclosures no. 16 and 17

access road upgrade 6`000.- ahead of - and during building phase

signpost’s - road sign 6`000.- from lushoto up to swiss mountain lodge7 pcs different sizes

vehicles 2 35`000.- one mini bus - 9 seaterone canter - loading 2 tons

water supply infrastructure & sewagetreatment plants 20`000.- according plot layout plans see at

enclosures no. 16 and 17

power supply infrastructure 40`000.-own 3 phase power transformer

generator set of 30 kvatransfer of power line to the plot periphery

licences and start up cost’s 15`000.- tic application / obtaining & procurement ofdocuments, lawyer etc.

unforeseen 10`000.- various expenses

total cost of project 664`000.- without deficit covering

1.6 current investors, partners and supporters

current investors of swiss mountain loge is mr. daeppen josef, with existing assessments valued$ 35`000.- (inventory details see enclosure no. 19) mr. daeppen is also the property owner ofthe 3 hectare land in mkuzi with an estimated value of $ 15`000.- (total of $ 50`000-)

mr. hildebrand philip (horticulture engineer and landscaper) with an already invested amount of$ 50`000.- for property purchase, preliminary works and investigations relating the swissmountain lodge project

mr. sack daniel (study of chinese language and marketing) for preliminary works andinvestigations relating the swiss mountain lodge project, especially in correlation to make thisbusiness plan come true in investigating and analysing the feasibility of swiss mountain lodge

mrs. eiletz - kaube daniela (travel book author), as adviser and correcting the business planmanuscript two times

1.7 proposed company growth in comparison to a related project

mr. daeppen josef has put up and managed a similar lodge in the usambara mountainsfor two years. the success chronicle, in short, of the lodge as below illustrated:

january 2008, starting with planning to rebuild a run down, small 4 room lodge in the westernusambara mountains (for details see enclosure no. 25 / 35)

march 2009, starting to rebuild the existing facilities and infrastructure of the lodge from a backpacker level (10 us - dollar per night per person including breakfast) to a high qualityaccommodation lodge with various activities, home made products, carpenter work shop, ownfarm vegetable supply etc.the rates where raised to 50 us-dollar per person per night including breakfast. a 8 pagebrochure and a flyer folder with price list has been created to advert the lodge

the hiking tour program was established with 12 complete new hiking tours around theusambara mountains. two of the carpenters where at the same time professional tour guides.a 35 pages tour guide book with an accurate map of the lushoto district, with the detaildescription of the offered hiking trips and mentioning all attractions in the western arc usambaramountains, was introduced (see enclosure no. 28 / 29)

in the same year a carpenter work shop was launched with tree professional carpenters andone trainee. foremost to renovate the rooms and equip the rooms with adequate furniture,secondly to set up another income source for the lodge by selling carpenter products tointerested people. the 8 page carpenter brochure comprised more then 50 articles (woodfurniture, wooden accessories and gifts) to sell to potential guests and other interestedcustomers (for details see enclosure no. 28)

tree planting activities has been introduced to the guest’s, including granting a certificate (fordetails see enclosure no.31 / 32). during two years more then 4`000 trees have been planted atthe 25 hectare ground, half of the planted trees where indigenous

a on site activity program has been initiated with carpenter work shop activities and cookingactivities (for details see enclosure no. 30). other activities where in planning stage like motorbike tours, donkey riding trips, etc.

the same year the farming activities have been intensified to supply the lodge fully with owngrown vegetables from our farm ground and herbs from the newly created rock garden. the rockgarden was as well an additional attraction to the visiting customers

the working staffs by then have been steadily increased from beginning 5 full time employees, to15 full time employees and 8 part time employees

complete new water infrastructure with own borehole, including water storage tanks of 30`000litres have been successfully installed

power supply upgrading from one phase to three phases and installing of a generator set

advertising successfully the lodge trough medias and participate at the yearly travel trade fair(karibufair) in arusha with a vast effect regarding to get tour operators and agents as well newcustomers interested into the newly renovated lodge

after nine months of renovation work the lodge went public trough the complete new ownhomepage (no homepage was introduced before). this homepage was by then a real push forthe lodge. by the time the lodge was in the internet accessible, inquiries as well bookingsincreased surprisingly and unexpected very rapidly within only few weeks. the first bookingcame in already after just 4 days in the web. with the new tool of the homepage the increase ofinquiries and bookings was around 25%. the entire homepage was created by mr. daeppenalone with some help of friends in switzerland as to put the page into the web

after one month the homepage was publicised, the lodge where posted on the “tripadvisor.de”traveller website by our satisfied customers. this was by then another surprising and astonishingmove forwards for the lodge and the entire image. trough our exact figures we have find outanother increase of about 20% bookings. the inquiry rate was low since customers already gotthe excellent reputation of the place, then mostly they booked when have seen the comments inthe tripadvisor. it means those traveller websites are an extremely massive aspect to the imageof the potential seller

all in all finally, the turnover of the lodge was rising within 2 years at a rate of 1`000% anda small profit was made after 20 months of operation

the rating points in the “tripadvisor” website were 97 points of possible 100 points within4 months, followed by mambo view point with 77 points. the other rated competitorswhere below 40 points and some of them where not illustrated and mentioned at theparticular website (see enclosure no. 34)

in fact, the starting level point of the lodge, was very low while we had to start the lodgefrom the scratch again and look out for a new customer segment in the market.the acceptance from the customer side was even for mr. daeppen very surprising andunexpected. that’s why mr. daeppen is extremely in no doubt, that a new introducedlodge with all the above indicated aspects, as well every one of the mentioned andindicated points of this business plan will work out in a very successful mission calledswiss mountain lodge

for the duration of the 2 years, the same time abundance measures have beenimplemented for the community and the villages surrounding the lodge as:

a pat of 1 km access road for the farmers have been upgraded, to allow the farmercommunity, accessibility to their farm grounds to bring the fresh vegetables withoutdelay to the end user

the new secondary school was generous supported by tanga cement in view of thefact of mr. daeppen excellent contact network to the management of the cementcompany

an volunteer project and sponsorship scheme was just ahead of operation stage

1.8 existing data’s, documents, assets and contacts

since mr. daeppen has carried out and managed a comparable project within the last 9years in the hospitality industries we are in possession of following advantageous data’s,documents and contacts as:

flyer folder with particulars about swiss mountain lodge and lushoto incl. contacts and accessmap with pictures of the area

8 pages brochure with all details about swiss mountain lodge, tanga and lushoto, as well thecontacts and access map, with a wide selection of pictures of the entire area

hiking tour flyer - folder with 12 destinations. all those tours have been visited and are hotspots in the usambara mountains. two professional tour guides and carpenters arerecognized and they are prepared to work for swiss mountain lodge as soon we need them

hiking tour booklet a4 size with 32 pages in accordance with the hiking tour flyer butexceptionally going into particulars and facts about the trips and the usambara region ingeneral. each trip with pictures from the destination, useful information for the trip and inaddition with a map of lushoto district among all hot spots

8 pages brochure for the carpenter work shop. all farm house wood furniture, accessoriesand gifts are illustrated with comment and prices. mr. daeppen is in possession of all thosearticles, measurements price calculation and samples for further fast operation

the flyers for the on - site activities and planting of indigenous trees are set as well the treeplanting certificate. to get the seedlings for the indigenous trees we will cooperate with irentefarm biodiverity in lushoto who are focused in tree planting and they have the most familiarseedlings incl. in particular the indigenous seedlings one at hand

the concept and the contacts are made to implement the motor bike tours without delay onceswiss mountain lodge commence to operate. there are 2 potential tour operators in tanzaniawho will support swiss mountain lodge. all of them are known to mr. daeppen and they haveseen the location too and they are very interested in to have something like swiss mountainlodge in the usambara mountains. according to them, they are not happy with the providerthey are dealing with at the moment and show a big interest in the project of swiss mountainlodge

a website - homepage with 16 pages is ready by 90%, the website in german language isstill in progress stage

a particularized price list with all the conditions for travel agency and tour operator isproduced

menu card (14 pages) is completed

(for more details see enclosures no. 10 / 26 / 27 / 28 / 29 / 30 / 31 / 32 / 33)

further and additional forms completed and ready for usage as:

cash sales voucher accommodation booking and control forms restaurant event booking forms guest registration forms inventory forms maintenance schedules personnel oral contracts id cards and business contact cards guest summary data schedule with all the vital information with indication to the bookings like

booking references, booking type, nationalities, duration of stay and a lot of other informationfor further marketing purposes

accounting files with all the necessary data, statistics, facts and figures are ready for use employees job description and directives are still in progress but in a advanced stage purchase price list with all supplier datas are up dated and available purchase charts with all supplier datas and contacts are prepared and ready for use a file with all suppliers and service providers, locally, regionally and nationally, is up dated fill – in contracts for craftsman are prepared etc. etc. ……………………………….

existing assets from mr. daeppenin general following assets are on hand (for details see at the enclosure no. 19):

fully equipped mechanical and carpenter workshop office equipment as laptop, scanner, printer and implements refrigerators and deep freezers kitchen machineries and equipments tableware and glasses (50%) various hardware, electrical equipment, plumbing material etc. wood processing machines for small scale carpenter workshop

2.0 market analyses and strategy

2.1 tanzania - the land of opportunities

currently, tanzania receives about 700`000 tourists annually. although the industry is small(about 5`000 hotel - lodge rooms of international standard), it nonetheless makes an importantcontribution to the economy, accounting for nearly 10% of national output (gdp) andrepresenting some 40% of total foreign exchange earnings from the export of goods andservices.international tourism is largely concentrated in the northern wildlife area, encompassing lakemanyara, the serengeti, the ngorongoro conservation area and mount kilimanjaro. theseinternationally known attractions are the industry’s “honey pots” and have constituted thebackbone of tanzania tourism for many years. however, the feedback from the internationalmarkets is that the northern wildlife area is becoming overcrowded, that the limits of acceptableuse are being reached. new areas and new tourism products must be developed if the industryis to expand.the assessment is that, by any standards, tanzania is an exceptionally beautiful and interestingcountry. with its 12 national parks, 31 game reserves, 38 game controlled areas, a conservationarea and marine park, tanzania`s wildlife resources are considered among the finest in theworld and have been widely known for many years.tanzania has a rich heritage of archaeological, historical and rock painting sites, a number ofwhich have been designated “world heritage sites”. to the tourist, tanzania also offers interestingculture and crafts, most notably the masai culture and art and the makonde sculptures andcarvings done in ebony.tanzanians are warm, open friendly people with long tradition of generous hospitality and awealth of folklore

in order to attract investment, the tanzanian government has put in place an incentive packagesecond to none: a one-stop-shop tanzania investment centre (tic) where applications forinvestment, business registration, work and resident permits and tax issues are all handledunder one roof. tic processes application for investments with a minimum capital of usd300`000.- for foreign - owned or partnerships between foreign and local investors and of usd100`000.- for locally owned businesses (see enclosure no: 37).being a politically stable country with long tradition of peace and security and attracted byvarious investment incentives, investors are flocking into the country to the extent that thecountry is now dubbed “the land of opportunities”. foreign direct investments flow into tanzaniaand have put the country among the leading top-ten african investment destinations.

2.2 tanga region

as a newcomer on the international and regional tourism map, tanga takes the opportunity to getit right from the start. the emerging tourism industry in tanga region is led by a cooperationbetween local, private and public tourism stakeholders. they are determined to help residentsand local governments to recognize, preserve and use the tourism potential of the immensebeauty of tanga region as the natural environment and diverse ecosystems of the indian oceancoast, islands, the usambara mountains and the masai steppe that all form part of tanga region

in addition, tanga region also has significant, valuable and unique built heritage in its historicalarea. nowhere in east africa are existing historical buildings of heritage architecture and in largenumbers as found in tanga region. and nowhere is this historical area so well planned anddeveloped as in tanga region (see enclosure no: 23 and chapter 2.6)

2.3 usambara mountains - an upcoming destination in tanzania

by running a similar operation in lushoto in recent years, we have observed that numeroustravel agents and tour operators prefer the usambara mountains as an extension to safaris andcombined safari - beach holidays. tourists who visit the usambara mountains mostly stay 3nights and more on average. since the new national park mkomazi has been gazetted, thenumber of tourists to the usambara mountains has risen significantly. there is even a direct dirtroad connection from the usambara mountains into mkomazi national park via the village mtae(only with 4-wheel drive).lushoto is located right in between the parks of the northern circuitparks, kilimanjaro, the coast and zanzibar. all four of them receive most of the travellers visitingtanzania. there are regular flights from arusha, dar es salaam and zanzibar to tanga, providingopportunities for arrangements and stop - over in the usambara mountains. airlines havealready reacted to increased visitors, introducing an additional flight per day from dar es salaamto tanga (and vice versa) and from arusha to tanga (and vice versa). furthermore, the mainhighway (dar - moshi-highway) passes west of the usambara mountains, only 30 minutes fromlushoto off this highway a tarmac road leads into lushoto, making it highly accessibly by roadtransfer. tourism in lushoto and in the usambara mountains has been growing gradually over thelast years. several hotel and lodges especially at lushoto town have had investments and hadbeen marketing them to the african and the world market by using mainly internet sites and localtour operators. the usambara mountains represent an ideal area to develop small mountainresorts which would be used as the base for those seeking relaxation, quiet walks andobserving nature

the usambara mountains are a unique place, because of:

abundance, diversity, reliability and visibility of wildlife especially endemic birds (seeenclosure no. 36), plants and flowers

rain forests unspoiled environment and beautiful scenery low tourist density very safe location the authentic, african experience friendly people

growth and development in other industries proof that tanga region (home of usambaramountains and lushoto) is booming. a number of businesses have grown tremendously recently,like tanga cement, pembe flour mills, pptl, katani limited. a new cement factory will soon start tooperate as tanga cement intends to double the output through new investments in theproduction facilities.tanga region, in particular the usambara mountains, have a lot to offer to tourists and residentexpatriates. most attractions are based on nature in the usambara mountains and the indianocean coast line of tanga which catch the attention of a discerning tourist (see enclosure no. 23and chapter 2.5)

ecotourism can bring socio-economic benefits to the communities and improve local attitudestowards conservation. therefore it is important that the villages surrounding swiss mountainlodge will also benefit from the tourism operations. a destination with nature attractions andlocal culture in an attractive mountain environment are an important addition to the tourism offerof tanga region, which is being promoted e.g. by tanga tourism network association (tatona).tanga tourism has grown in the recent years, which must be because of its many unique andunexplored attractions and because the national parks of the northern tourist circuit havebecome congested

2.4 swiss mountain lodge location in the usambara mountains

the usambara mountains are a mountain range in the north - east of tanzania, approximately 70miles (110 km) in length and 20 to 40 miles (30 to 60 km) in width. the highest peaks in therange rise as high as 8,000 ft (2,440 m). the range is accessible through the towns of lushoto inthe west and amani in the east. the usambara mountains are commonly referred to with regardto their two sub-ranges, west usambara mountains and east usambara mountains. thesignificantly smaller east usambara mountains are closer to the coast, thus receiving morerainfall. the usambara mountains are fairly unique predominantly because of unspoiled regionscovered with rare, primary tropical forest - an acclaimed hotspot of biodiversity. the mountainrange is considered ecologically tremendously significant, there are many protected zonesthroughout the range which are being expanded and contributed to by the tanzaniangovernment, associated ngo's and research teams, and donor countries such as norway.several species are endemic to the usambara forests.lushoto is the administrative centre of the western arc usambara mountains. located at 1`400meter above sea level, the climate is cool and subtropical. lushoto is the biggest town in thewestern arc usambara mountains. the whole lushoto district population is around over 400`000people. the usambara mountain area is a friendly place in a beautiful setting among highforested peaks. the farmers are mostly growing vegetables, fruits, tea, coffee and a variety ofother food crops (pictures and maps see at enclosure no. 20 / 21)

swiss mountain lodge will be situated 15 km north east of the town lushoto 1720 metersabove sea level nestled in the foothills of the forested mount mhande with a stunningpanorama of the rolling hills of the surrounding landscape. the place is called mkuzi andis easily accessible from lushoto by car and public transport even trough out the rainyseason. by driving from lushoto to swiss mountain lodge you have to pass a little pat ofthe lovely maweni rain forest just 2 km before you arrive at the entrance to ascend toswiss mountain lodge (for maps and access see enclosure no. 20)

mr. daeppen is one of the founder member and moreover a member of the board of “tangatourism network association” (tatona)tanga tourism network association was founded in 2008. the tanga tourism network associationtakes the lead in efforts to protect and develop the tourism potential of the natural ecosystems,built heritage and culture of tanga region. by creating regional and international linkages totourism markets in order to boost tanga`s economic development, tatona has the mission todevelop tourism that is culturally sensitive, socially responsible, ecologically friendly andenvironmentally sustainable. the association comprises members (detailed member list seeenclosure no. 24) from tour operators and guides, hoteliers, restaurants, transport companies,manufacturers of tourism products and other stakeholders.an additionally effort of tanga tourism network association is the tanga tourism guide.the tanga tourism network association and the tanga city council have taken a joint initiativeunder public – private - partnership, and developed a 100 page tanga tourism guide with up - to- date information that is nowhere else accessiblethe mission for tanga is "geo - tourism" that includes ecological, nature, cultural, heritage andresponsible tourism. geo-tourism promotes exiting new forms of travel that enhance the uniquecharacter of a destination and the well-being of its residentsthe tanga tourism guide was developed in 2010 by a professional working group formed bysmall local tourism businesses, the tanga city council, with inputs from several stakeholdermeetings.a second edition with 13`000+ print - runs was financed by advertisements and generousdonations from businesses in the greater tanga region by 2011 (see enclosure no. 23)

2.5 tourist attractions in the usambara mountains

the tourist attractions and the motivation for holiday travel in the usambara mountains are:

natural:

climate: the stabile climate allowed the forest to evolve and formed many species over along period of time

rain forest reserve: shume - magamba forest reserve / mazumbai forest reserve is a realbird watchers paradise

mountains: mount mhande / mount kwamongo etc. waterfalls: soni waterfall / mkuzi waterfall birds: green-headed oriole / amani sunbird / usambara - hyliota / eagle owl / weaver / alethe

/ hartlaub`s turaco / fischer`s turaco / blue mantled crested flycatcher / bartailed and narinatrogons …….. the list is endless

amphibians and reptiles: 15 species are endemic like two-horned, three horned and soft-horned chameleons ……..

butterflies: 8 species are endemic, while 43 species are threatened mammals and others: tree hyraxes / swynnerton`s squirrel / abbot`s duiker etc. / black and

white colobus monkey etc. view points: irente view point / mambo view point / yoghoi view point / kwamongo view point

swiss mountain lodge view point etc. flora and fauna in general: 2`855 plant species geology: the usambara mountains arose 290-180 million years ago. the rock types are

gneisses, meta - anorthisites and some marble caves: mambo caves: the caves must have been created due to a heavy earthquake

causing big rocks fall

cultural:

archaeological: gonja village excavations historical: colonial buildings / wilhelmstal / jaegertal / old german church in mlalo / old

german mission, hospital and historic settlement at bumbuli arts and crafts: pottery local traditional medicine

man - made:

architecture: lushoto`s post office build in 1913 etc. agriculture: tea and coffee farms / beekeeping / fruits / vegetables madala hominid footprints: the footprints are at the surface, clearly visible and at least 1,5

million years old, so probably from predecessor of mankind

2.6 tourist attractions in the region tanga

the tourist attractions and the motivation for holiday travel in the tanga region are:

natural:

sadaani national park nilo nature reserve in amani mkomazi game reserve coastal areas: with unique clean beaches for fishing, snorkelling, scuba diving, windsurfing,

sailing, kayaking, pangani river cruise etc. etc. islands: maziwe island / toten island / ulenge island / yambe island caves: amboni caves calanos hot sulphur springs amani nature reserve with its botanical garden, butterfly farm, tea and spice

plantations

cultural:

archaeological: old ndumi village ruins / tongoni ruins historical: cliff block at bombo hospital / katani house / old tanga school / mkonge hotel /

usambara courthouse etc. etc. arts and crafts traditional boat and dhow building local traditional medicine tanga museum music and dance pangani culture walk

man - made:

architecture: cliff block at bombo hospital / katani house / old tanga school / mkonge hotelusambara courthouse etc. etc.

sisal estates

for more information and details about tanga region and particularly the usambaramountains, see at the attached enclosures - tanga tourism guide (enclosure no. 23)additional impressions of lushoto and particularly the usambara mountains seeenclosure no. 21 and 22

it is a fact that the constant liberalization of the tanzanian economy has continued to exertpressure on high quality hospitality facilities all over the country. especially the recent influx offoreign staff of un organizations, diplomatic missions, multinational companies currentlyinvesting in various sectors of the economy has increased the demand for high qualityhospitality facilities outside of the major hubs dar es salaam, arusha, dodoma, tanga andzanzibar.expats want to be offered weekend getaways and holidays in tanzania

3.0 hospitality industry description and outlook

3.1 tanzania`s visitor survey - market trends and growths

there are no exactly figures about how many tourists visiting the usambara mountains everyyear. below see the visitor numbers for entire tanzania by purpose of visit for 2007 (source:ministry of natural resources and tourism division)

holiday -recreation business transit others total

339`569 130`201 10`956 20`916 501`669

68%

26%

2% 4%

currently, there are no reliable published data on the demographic profile of visitors to tanzania -where they come from, purpose of visit, length of stay, accommodation used etc.

a national parks statistics shows that europeans account for some two - thirds of total visits andamericans a further 30 percentalthough visitor arrivals from the main source markets have increased during the past five years

visitors from europe and north america predominate us originating traffic has grown slowly throughout the period from about 23`000 to 31`000

while traffic from northern and western europe has grown from about 85`000 to 118`000tourist arrivals

within europe, the main source markets are britain, scandinavia, italy, germany and france,which together accounted for just over 70 percent of total european arrivals in 2007. thesecondary markets are switzerland, the benelux and spain, together accounting for a further 19percent of arrivals.

bearing in mind that the results of the pilot visitor exit survey are unweighted to take account ofthe different visitor flows through the main entry - exit points, indications are that just under halfof all visitors came for holiday purposes; about 25% for business, about 12% to visit friends andrelatives, and about 10% for conference - meetings.

3.2 visitor expenditure pattern

expenditure patterns vary by purpose of visit, length of stay and whether package or nonpackage arrangement as shown on the following table (source: international visitor exit pilotsurvey, may 2007)

non package packagepurposeof visit length of

stay indays

average in$

averageper day in

$

length ofstay indays

average in$

averageper day in

$

1 - 3 837 418 1 - 3 986 493

4 - 7 878 160 4 - 7 981 178business

8 - 28 1`481 82 8 - 28 1`481 82

1 - 3 1`359 680 1 - 3 851 426

4 - 7 362 66 4 - 7 539 98conference

8 - 28 679 38 8 - 28 863 48

1 - 3 382 191 1 - 3 779 390

4 - 7 540 98 4 - 7 919 167holiday

8 - 28 4`405 245 8 - 28 1`723 96

again, taking into account the fact that the results are unweighted by visitor flows, and adjustingfor extreme values, the findings indicate that:

business visitors spend an average of about $ 900.- per trip conference visitors spend an average of about $ 600.- per trip holiday visitors spend an average of about $1`000.- per trip

3.3 swiss mountain lodge and its target market

in generally we are targeting those customers who are looking for a beach complement to acombined safari, nature holiday, and soft adventure

our foremost target group of customers are the european visitor with the main motivation of“wildlife” experience, combination holidays, hiking, soft adventure and culture. in particularthe european visitor and especially germans, swiss and austrians as well as thescandinavian country customer. most of those countries are ranking highest worldwide inconsumption of organic food and organic farming, so there is an overall understanding andacceptance of green, sustainable eco-tourism

secondly another target group of customers are the foreign staff of un organizations,diplomatic missions, multinational companies etc. including of their visiting friends andrelatives

a further source of market targeting in future will be the usa, asia - pacific customer

3.4 figures & experienced findings of a similar lodge in the usambaramountains

due to the historical relationship of tanzania to the colonial time with germany, the germanguest’s are still one of the most observed tourist in the usambara mountains trough thathistorical fact

our exact findings and trends during an observation period, with a similar lodge duringtwo years (2009 until 2011) are as following:

visitors from germany 25% visitors from switzerland 16% followed by britains, south africans, scandinavian country’s, united states and others 47% where tanzanian residence (embassies, ngo`s, global operating company’s etc.) spending average per head and per day $100.- (room rate by then was $ 50.- p.p. & night) occupancy rate was 65% after two years operating most bookings 50% trough e-mail and each 25% where bookings by telephone calls and

drop-ins 21% came after they have seen our homepage. 18% came because of trip advisor and

holiday check recommendations (traveller platform). 14% came because ofrecommendations (mouth to worth). another 12% came because of other advertisingsources. the rest of 35% where drop-in customers, ore because of our striking signboards, or of comments in travel guide books and trough bookings of tour operatorsand agents etc. etc.

guest sources

homepage21%

tripadvisor18%

recommendation14%

advertising various12%

drop-in & others35%

it was observed that the residence customers are much more spending. in fact, most of thembought stuff from our carpenter and home shop since they have not to carry limited luggage asthe holiday traveller does.as more as the customer was satisfied with our services as more he was spending. it startsalready with the atmosphere and charisma of the whole environment and working staff, theattractive buildings and furniture including décor and outfit. a very big magnetism was the openfireplace in the chalet. the fireplace encourages the customer to stay on after having dinner andbeverage sales boost upa very essential subject was always food quality, selection and put the meals into effect. it wasobserved, that spending in high - quality food was almost 30% of the per head overall expensesof a customer

in fact, that the usambara mountains and tanga region in the whole, are not a high pricedestination for travellers, our target will be the mid - range european traveller who has asense for quality accommodation with all the supplementary services and benefits.the market of this customer segment is still lacking behind in tanzania. swiss mountainlodge will be one of those hospitality providers who commence to close the cap

it took almost 18 months to promote a similar establishment to recognized tour operators andagents, to convince and to satisfy them. by this time we selected those tour operators andagents very carefully by means of seriousness, reputation, suspension of payment etc. etc.

by being a small provider and observing the target market very close, we are able toreact within short time on different customer demands, market and potential trendchanges as well as further difficulties. swiss mountain lodge will at all times know whatthe customer requirements and wishes are and come across with the finest solution andproduct.we don’t want to be a provider of trying to be everything to everybody. this are the times,which this philosophy leads to failures

3.5 visitor market segment and product analyses

market segment characteristics swiss mountain lodgeproducts required

business

short stay (5 nights) high spending; even seasonal

throughout year high repeat business

usambara visit add - on (1 to 2 nights) sightseeing or soft hiking tour

visiting friends - relations

long stay (up to one month) stay with friends - relatives low use of tourist plants high repeat business

one weekend trip to the usambaramountains

combined visit to tanga and panganicoast beach resorts

vacation - other leisure

medium stay (7 to 14 nights) stay in hotels - lodges high spending low repeat highly seasonal

usambara excursion between safariand beach

usambara excursion and beach usambara excursion and safari

soft adventure medium stay (6 to 13 nights) stay in camps - tents younger age groups

climatically adapting for mt.kilimanjaro & mt. meru climbing

hiking trips cultural activities

activity medium to long stay stay in camps - tents high spending

climatically adapting for mt.kilimanjaro & mt. meru climbing

hiking trips cultural activities down hill biking

special interest medium stay high usage of hotels & lodges high spending

interest in visiting the usambaramountains for historical,archaeological, ornithological ,anthropological, cultural awareness

conference - incentive

short stay high spending high hotel usage low repeat

good quality hotel & lodges range of things to see & to do support & services (pick-up &

transport)

“geotourism” includes ecological, nature, cultural and heritage tourism. what they allhave in common is that they offer visitors a wider range of authentic experiences of thebeaten track, in addition to and beyond the traditional wildlife viewing and beachholidays

a niche market is bird watching or birding. although some specialized tours are run,generally birders are mixed in with photographic safaris to the northern or southerncircuits, where wildlife viewing is the main objective. some tour guides are specialized inbirding and are trained to seek out bird habitats and so cater the birders. a specializedbirding tour operator in the uk described tanzania`s potential for birding as “barelytapped”. of the nearly 9`000 bird species identified worldwide, 1`000 are found intanzania. there are several areas outside the current wildlife viewing circuits that couldattract birders. one particular area are the usambara mountains which has great potential

(this area also includes the mkomazi national park, which contains 90% of all botanicspecies found in tanzania, with one - third of plants classified as endemic). birders canconstitute a repeat market until they have logged all the birds, certainly those that areendemic in the country. the current numbers of birders are estimated at less than 1% oftourists viewing wildlife.the usambara mountains is a land where you can see the forest and the trees, a landmade for birds - and for birders

while it is unlikely that all but a dedicated few tourists would visit the usambaramountains exclusively for its cultural assets, their existence adds to the richness of thediversity of the tourism product. such cultural assets can bring revenues to communitiesthat would not otherwise benefit from tourism and can help to extend the length of thetourist’s stay. those cultural assets in the usambara mountains have potential fordevelopment of other facets of tourism i.e. resort tourism, could become destinationsthat can be successfully combined with wildlife viewing on the northern or southerncircuits

3.6 competitive analysis

following competitors in the western arc usambara mountains and lushoto town have totake into reflective consideration:

mullers mountain lodge, mkuzi (14 km from lushoto town):

accommodation capacity: 20 rooms and cottages / camping facilitiesprice segment: per double room and night, bb is $ 38.- to $ 50.-additional services and attractions: guided hiking tours, several days biking tours to tanga andpangani, pick up service of customers in lushoto townstrength: the strength of mullers mountain lodge is, that the management has a strong networkto adequate tour operators and agents build up since yearsweakness: mixed reputations, from good up to average. there is no sufficient maintenance atthe infrastructure done (e.g. water supply). they are not targeting a special customer segment.food wise they are far away of quality food and assorted varieties. restaurant furniture is inplastic, since wood is available in lushoto. no detail work at the accommodation and customer’sarea. good information brochures are mostly not available or if available, the brochures are notup to date and full of spelling errors including the menu card

mambo view point, mtae (60 km from lushoto town):

accommodation capacity: 8 cottagesprice segment: per double room and night, bb is $ 70.- to $ 120.-additional services and attractions: are guided hiking tours. the activities are limited in viewof the fact that the place is far off to lushotostrength: the lodge is build on a nice and fantastic spot, right at the cliff 1900 meter above sealevel with a fantastic view over the masai plains and on a clear day you can see mountkilimanjaro. the lodge is managed trough a dutch couple. they are contributing a sudden amountto the village community and do a lot other works (road works, water supply infrastructure) tothe local community. the lodge is well managedweakness: the room prices are high compared to others. food is as well a service deficit due tothe remote and far off place. during the rainy season, it is some times impossible to get there orto get off

irente biodiversity reserve, off lushoto town:

accommodation capacity: 4 rooms and one family roomprice segment: per room and night, bb is $ 10.- to $ 35.-additional services and attractions: are guided hiking tours, home made fresh dairy products,muesli and bread.strength: irente biodiversity reserve (formal irente farm) is covering almost an area of 200hectares of rain forest with significant indigenous tree variety and abundance of bird speciesand wildlifeweakness: the place is definitely understaffed. since the project is handled trough a religiousmission. nothing has been done since years to improve the accommodations and infrastructure.food wise is only picnic lunch available and some small other dishes for dinner which are clearlynot sufficient. the place is more or less for cheap budget travellers and good for self cateringcampers and groups to 6 persons (family room)

lawns hotel, lushoto town:

accommodation capacity: 35 roomsprice segment: per double room and night, bb is $ 10.- to $ 30.-additional services and attractions: nonestrength: the strength of the lawns hotel is still that they have a very long traditional andhistorical background. it was the first hotel build in lushoto. the hotel is built on a nice spot, overviewing a part of lushotoweakness: the management is greece, but it seems with no attention and awareness about theoverall situation of the business. the buildings, infrastructure and kitchen are in a scruffy shape.food wise it’s not recommendable. good information brochures are not available or if available,the brochures are not up to date and full of spelling errors including the menu card

highland park hotel, lushoto town:

accommodation capacity: of around 30 to 35 rooms.price segment: per double room and night, bb is $17.- to $ 25.-additional services and attractions: none.strength: the newly build hotel block with is mostly build for business travellers. the rooms aresimple equipped and worth the price.weakness: the hotel seems to be always empty and is not been well recognized. menu card isvery limited. good information brochures are not available

tumaini hostel, lushoto town:

accommodation capacity: 20 rooms.price segment: per double room and night, bb is $ 8.- to $ 25.-additional services and attractions: nonestrength: the hostel is well known from the budget traveller. the rooms are worth the price. thehostel has a nice outside garden and dinning facilities as well a simple inside restaurant. verygood accessible from bus station lushotoweakness: menu card is full of nice mouth watering meals with international names likeparmesan, pizza etc. but you can not order it because they don’t have it and sometimes thewaiter does not understand the menu card. the service is very slow and every second time youdon’t exactly get what you have ordered. good information brochures are not available or ifavailable, the brochures are not up to date and full of spelling errors including the menu card. noalcoholic drinks available

lushoto executive lodge, off lushoto town:

accommodation capacity: 40 rooms and luxury tentsprice segment: per double room and night, bb is $ 55.- to $120.-additional services and attractions: are gym facilities and massage, small conferencefacilities. the lodge is build in a nice environment with a small zoo where deer’s and some otheranimals are been holdweakness: the upkeep of the access road has been neglected since years. the restaurant isfully equipped with plastic tables and chairs. to sit in the restaurant and at the bar gives thefeeling to sit and wait on a fast food outlet at a european railway station. food wise it’s notrecommendable. good information brochures are mostly not available or if available, thebrochures are not up to date and full of spelling errors including the menu card

irente cliff lodge hotel, off lushoto town:

accommodation capacity: 25 roomsprice segment: per double room and night, bb is $ 50.- to $120.-additional services and attractions: nonestrength: the lodge is build on one of the best spots in the usambara mountains, direct on thecliff 1000 meter above sea levelweakness: despite the nice spot, the hotel is bellowing all standards in all the way. most guest’sare definitely are just coming because of the beautiful location and scenery. non informationbrochures where available during our survey

there are a lot of other small lodges, hotels and guest houses in lushoto town and around thearea, but those are out of question to be actually an existent competitor for the swiss mountainlodge market target

3.7 keys to success

in order to achieve all the goals related to building up a cutting-edge hospitality business, swissmountain lodge needs to focus on the following key areas:

appropriate communication through personal interaction, media, and regional marketing focus on loyal customers who give repeat - business and work closely with travel agents and

tour operators in order to generate adequate sales maintain a high level of service quality and offer cutting - edge facilities allow visitors to see the beauty of the usambara mountains and make them want to come

back competitive price and price policy strong management handling costs, cash flow and other operations encourage local authorities to support the project developing a range of special interest products to a high standard developing activity and soft adventure products developing a cultural - historical product image creation as swiss mountain lodge is a soft eco - tourism lodge, emphasising the

abundance of flora and fauna of the usambara mountains. swiss mountain lodge shouldadvertise the fact that swiss mountain lodge is not a mass tourism lodge and that swissmountain lodge is an ideal base for recreation holiday’s with activities e.g. hiking, biking on -site activities etc. the usambara mountains and the swiss mountain lodge unspoilt naturalenvironment and beautiful scenery should also be highlighted. to develop an image of swissmountain lodge as the leading accommodation provider in conjunction with high qualityservices, activities and diverse cultural interests

to undertake an inventory of tourism resources. this would involve not just an enumeration ofthe various resources, amenities and facilities - but also include a qualitative description

3.8 marketing analyses review

as seen with the above analyses, all of those lodges, hotels and guest houses, they are lackingin either or the other way in services, offers of activities, maintenance and upkeep or all theservices. some are inadequate and not sufficient for the targeted traveller, some services do atall not exist and some services are offered but with no customer demand. commonly thoseservices which are eminent to satisfy the customer are poor or not existent.there is also lack or limited knowledge of the customer market, travel trade awareness, accessdifficulties etc.close at hand, there is no lodge or hotel in the lushoto district which will provide a similarstandard of quality at a more than competitive price as swiss mountain lodge is setting up. mostof the hospitality facilities in the region provide various kinds of services, but usually one oremore of their products lag behind requirements, tourists' expectations and standards as seen onthe above competitive analyses.

there is presently one archetype of one german investor who bought a 30 hectare farm plot(mostly planted with indigenous trees) in april 2011. the investor failed due to inadequate studyof the market. subsequent to only 7 month after they bought the plot, the german investorcrashed down and sold the place to a tanzanian parliament member. the place was such a greatopportunity to build swiss mountain lodge. the place was well developed (3 phase power supply- water supply etc.). the main building, an old german colonial, 2 story brick building is still in

very good condition and needed only minor repairs, it could be used as main house withrestaurant, kitchen, reception, offices and store. the place is especially beautiful and would havegiven many opportunities to establish swiss mountain lodge

this search and business plan is based on independent opinion, surveys and research fromsources considered reliable. no representation is made as to accuracy or completeness and nocontingent liability of any kind can be accepted. the business plan projections are dependent onthe developer building and operating the lodge as a “swiss mountain lodge”, including certainamenities, and spending the appropriate operating funds necessary to generate projectedrevenues, most especially budgeted funds for aforementioned amenities and for marketing,including a listing in various tour guide books. our opinion that this business plan fairly andconservatively represents the room revenues, profitability and return on investment performancethat can be achieved by developing and operating a 10 room unit lodge at the aforementionedsite in mkuzi - lushoto

source strategies have long contended that the number of rooms a developer offers in a newproperty is one of the key factors in determining a venture's relative success or failure. it isevery bit as important to size a lodge project properly as it is to select the appropriate brand,and to develop in a suitable market and location. we have previously conducted extensivestudies of the lodging market that support our lodge sizing contention. before delving into thenumbers that define the role of room count in a lodge’s performance, we should first highlightthe basic industry theory of “rightsizing” a property. the premise offered by many inexperienceddevelopers is "if i can make a profit constructing a 50 room lodge in a given market, it would betwice as profitable to develop 100 rooms." in virtually all cases nothing could be farther from thetruth. at some point adding rooms to a project reaches a point of diminishing returns, and theinvestment in the additional rooms cannot be economically justified

to illustrate this point, mentally divide our hypothetical 100 room project into two 50 room hotels.the initial 50 rooms may perform very well, with occupancies over 70% and a very strong ratestructure. however, the second 50 rooms are only utilized when there is overflow from the firstlodge because its rooms are 100% occupied. effectively, the second 50 rooms may only attainan occupancy rate of 30% or less. this low level of occupancy may prompt the general managerto lower rates to bolster occupancy, but this is a losing battle. ultimately, overbuilding causesrevenue erosion in the property, and in the market as a whole. today's developers and lenderswould not seriously consider involvement in a 50 room project operating at this low level, butoften times they accomplish the same end by pushing for more rooms in a project than themarket can effectively support. if we now mentally put these two 50 room properties backtogether (one operating at 70%, the other at 30% occupancy), what we end up with is anoversized 100 room hotel that is running a mediocre 50% occupancy. over-sizing a lodge makesit difficult, if not impossible, to be competitive in a marketplace. there are a finite number of roomnights sold to be divided among existing lodges and hotels in the market, and developing amore conservatively sized property helps insure that a profitable level of those room nights canbe captured. building a lodge is not the 'field of dreams'.... if you build it - they won't come....with the exception of destination resorts and some unique convention lodges, people do not gosomeplace because there is a lodge. rather, they stay in a hotel because they want to be nearsomeplace. builders who construct too many rooms usually put themselves in unenviablefinancial situations

4.0 business description of swiss mountain lodge

4.1 mission of swiss mountain lodge

swiss mountain lodge strives to provide high - quality hospitality services together withactivities and tours for the growing eco-tourism market in the western, industrializedcountries

swiss mountain lodge puts its focus on sustainable development, using local resources, andlocal staff, providing income and skills to the local community

swiss mountain lodge will be among the first in the usambara mountains to meet the growingwestern demand for eco - friendly, sustainable and green responsible tourism

by enhancing a geographic location, as the usambara mountains are, with its nature, history andculture, and involving local residents as hosts rather than servants, “geotourism” creates a win -win situation. these new forms of tourism help local people recognise and preserve theimmense value of their own local environment, unique cultures and historical heritage, bycarefully developing them into tourism products that generate considerable additional income

4.2 location of swiss mountain lodge

the size of the allocated site is approx. 2,5 hectares and has been purchased in november 2011.there are possibilities to buy additional land for future purposes which are about 2 hectares.negotiations have been held and the plot owners are ready to sell it for a price of $ 4`000.-additional land has been purchased too to implement a small vegetable farm, to supply swissmountain lodge with fresh farm products and providing local staff with income. the size of thefarmland is 5`000 square meter and approximately 200 meters off the swiss mountain lodgepremises (see enclosure no. 1 / 2)

4.3 products and services of swiss mountain lodge

swiss mountain lodge will accommodate visitors in self - contained twin room chalets andprovides excellent food

swiss mountain lodge will provide and organize activities like: on - site activities, sustainableeco - tourism activities, e.g. tree planting, hiking tours and trips, cultural tours, bike andmotorbike tours and other activities. packages and arrangements to visit the highlights ofgreater lushoto and the usambara mountains will also be sold

swiss mountain lodge will sell extra services for visitors include merchandise (e.g. souvenirs,key-ring holders, cutting boards, etc.) made of wood which is produced locally in the swissmountain lodge’s own carpenter workshop. in the affiliated carpenter workshop (for similarproject brochure, see enclosure no. 10) all the furniture and merchandise will bemanufactured, providing local staff with income and skills

swiss mountain lodge intends to grow a small vegetable farm (land has been purchasedalready for this purpose) with an particular herb - rock - garden for own supply of freshvegetables, fruits and berries etc. the combined herb and rock garden is also meant as anadditional attraction to visitors and will be cultivated at the swiss mountain lodge terrain

swiss mountain lodge will be build-up, managed and get along according to sustainable andecological standards, as the lodge is located in one of the most important biodiversityhotspots worldwide. the lodge and the services rendered will take into account this unique

feature. buildings, structures and other constructions of swiss mountain lodge will for themost part be made out of locally grown wood, nearby produced wall bricks, natural stoneblocks from the close by quarry and other building material produced and sold in theusambara mountains and in tanzania

personal service and an intimate, friendly atmosphere aimed at the individual travellers willbe one of the unique selling points of swiss mountain lodge

trough to our experience, there are fundamental requirements to be rewarded tocustomer’s which he is expecting to get from an excellent hospitality provider like swissmountain lodge will be: some of those fundamental requirements are listed below andthose essential requirements will come into operation:

clean, cosy and well furnished rooms with hot water access. relaxation zone with fireplaceand dinning area. this is especially vital for those customers (tanzania residences) whoescaped the hectic of the cities as well as for safari traveller groups and families (for groundplan see enclosure no. 12)

restaurant with recreation areas, fireplace etc. the space of the premises of swiss mountain lodge allows building of small stand aside

recreation hideaways (“pergolas”), it should be there for those customer who want to breakaway from all the other guest’s (for plot and infrastructure layout plan see enclosure no. 15 /16)

fine and tasty cooked food with outstanding choice (for everybody there is something toenjoy) is to a great extent important and very simple to make it happen, seeing as all thefresh vegetables and other products are grown and as well made locally, moreover fresh andeasy available. as it is seen from past experiences, the tanzanian residence customer islikely more responsive for admirable “solid european” meals then the holiday traveller, who ismore approachable for light and fresh meals with a lot of vegetables. all this has to beobserved and included in the swiss mountain lodge model and can be find at the attachedmenu card (see enclosure no. 33)

excellent services from arrival until to departure of the guest’s (we call it “customer run -flow”) including an after service and after care with helpful information and contacts to maketravelling trouble - free. this service is dependent furthermore of a good network to othertourism stakeholders in the tanga region and tanzania entirety

an activity program according the potential of the surrounding area with further travel andactivity possibilities. this catalogue contains typically hiking and sightseeing tours. there is amust for having rather other activities for those customers who are tired of hiking too, asdiverse further activities like on - site activities as carpenter workshop activities, local cookingtesting, tree planting, tree identification walks, kiswahili quick language courses, visiting alocal pottery and create your own pottery designs, watch by and be active with traditionalhair plait and tress art, or just to give the customer the possibility to stroll around the nearbyvillage, drop by a local market etc. etc. there are a lot of other prospective activities to keepand satisfy the “non hiking customer” too (see enclosure no. 28 / 29 / 30 / 31 / 32)

maps and excellent information material as brochures, flyers etc. which helps to keep thecustomer interested in the area and make him to stay longer, come again and enlighten theplace to other potential customers. some customer who are mobile (own vehicle, bike, motorbike etc.) like rather to make trips on their own, so they need accurate maps (gps data’s) ofthe area including market spots of attractions, view points and other essential and helpfulinformation (see enclosure no. 20)

an additional essential requirement where swiss mountain lodge has to put the fullattentiveness is the selection and range of flowers, plants and trees planted at the lodgegrounds. with reference from other projects in the usambara mountains mr. daeppen has

exceptional proficiency and awareness what kind of flowers, plants and trees arefundamental, how to place and arrange them in a way that it creates a centre of attention towide-ranging species of birds, colourful butterflies and a number of reptiles like chameleons,by then the “non hiking customer” can have the benefit of bird watching from his own chaletveranda for certainly

4.4 layout of swiss mountain lodge

accommodation consists of five independent twin room bungalows (chalets) with two bedrooms and lounge in the middle. each chalet consists of 2 double rooms equipped with onedouble bed, one bunk bed along with its own sanitary facilities. the rooms are separated by thespacious and attractive lounge with fireplace and dining place.the chalet rooms can be occupied either by individual travellers (single or travellers in pairsmaximum 4 persons per room) by sharing the lounge or without using or sharing the lounge, orby families and groups who rent the entire chalet together with the lounge.each room has separate access to the lounge. the entire layout of the chalet rooms withveranda in addition to the grouping of the chalets, guarantees maximum privacy (for groundplan details see enclosure no.12)

guests are given the choice of having the meals in the chalets (dinning place or chalet veranda)or at the restaurant, which also explains the surplus of waiters mentioned in the budget proposal

the maximum capacity of the 5 twin room chalets will be 40 guests

the attractiveness of the extra spacious lounge, fire place and eating area offers guest’sgreater value and comfort. the family appreciates the higher “sleeping” capacity of anentire chalet and its inherent economy, including a free breakfast.all this is an equally valuable asset to the business travellers and leisure travellers. thedual attraction of the twin room chalets with lounge to both leisure and businesstravellers is what keeps the occupancy high on both weekends and weekdays; it is themost appropriate product type of all to build in today's lodging market, especially wheremedium-priced demand is strong

the main house consists of a reception area with an office and a curio shop. the restaurant witha veranda including a recreational corner with a fireplace will accommodate 40 guests.the spacious kitchen is equipped with a pizza oven and large working spaces. there is anoutside bbq area, too (for ground plan details see enclosure no. 13)

in addition, there are rooms for storage, cooling units, and sanitary units for guests and staff.various other buildings include the staff quarter, rooms for drivers, laundry and sheltereddrying areas as well as separate storage rooms (for ground plan details see enclosure no. 14)

4.5 services and activities of swiss mountain lodge en detail

in order to backup the lodge financially, swiss mountain lodge will launch a number of activitiesto generate extra income.

1. accommodating visitors - the core business of swiss mountain lodge

2. operating and running a carpenter workshop

the staff of the workshop will be working for swiss mountain lodge already during theconstruction phase. later, when swiss mountain lodge is in operation, they will be working in thecarpenter workshop. the knowledge they gain during the construction phase will be useful forthe maintenance of the lodge in future. these staffs have to be carefully selected as they takedifferent tasks: carpenters, maintenance workers, and tour guides who have to speak english.after the construction of the lodge is completed, they will go on producing home - made swissmountain lodge furniture, accessories and gifts for the guests and third parties, being interestedin swiss mountain lodge handicrafts (enclosure no. 10)

3. organize and arrange guided hiking tours and tripsthe carpenters, all coming from the usambara mountains, are trained to become efficient tourguides. swiss mountain lodges guides are fully trained tour guides, all of whom are expertswhen it comes to spotting and identifying wildlife, birds and flora (enclosure no. 28 / 29)

4. on-site activities for those who are tired of hikingfor those tired of hiking, swiss mountain lodge offers on - site activities, such as spending anafternoon at the swiss mountain lodge woodcraft workshop with one of its carpenters or taking atour of the workshop and learning how swiss mountain lodge creates its unique designs. guestscan work with one of the carpenters to create their own woodcraft and take it home with them asa souvenir. examples for workshop products are coasters, ashtrays, cutting boards, candleholders, and many more.furthermore, visitors are allowed to join the chefs in a traditional usambara kitchen. they learnhow to make some fresh swiss mountain lodge recipes, e.g. baking a loaf of fresh bread, bakinga delicious cake, or creating any swiss mountain lodge dish of her or his choice.apart from carpenters and cooking activities, visitors are able to plant their own indigenous treeon the premises of swiss mountain lodge (enclosure no. 30 / 31 / 32)

5. more activities & servicessince swiss mountain lodge is one of the founding members and board members of the tangatourism network association (tatona), swiss mountain lodge is able to connect with all otherhospitality and tourism professionals of the usambara mountains as well as the tanga region.this puts swiss mountain lodge into the unique situation of being able to offer not only localservices, but also regional activities (enclosure no. 23 / 24)

4.6 future services and activities of swiss mountain lodge en detail

provide conference and seminar facilities for small groups and individuals of maximum 25persons

offer hiking trips into the usambara mountains that take anything between 3 and 7 days byrelying on strong partnerships with other local, high-profile hospitality providers and touroperators

offer horse - donkey riding and trekking tours into the usambara mountains offer mountain bike trips ranging from one to several days development of special interest tours which would include ornithological tours,

anthropological tours, study tours etc.

5.0 organization and personnel plan of staff and management

5.1 profile of mr. daeppen josef

name: daeppen josef (called kiboko)

date of birth: 17th september 1961

nationality: swiss

marital status:

married with a tanzanian / one children born october 2009

education:

car mechanical engineer school thun and biel, switzerland

other trainings:

engineer school thun, switzerland: course on engine diagnostics and motor vehicleelectronics

engineer school eth zuerich, switzerland: introductory course in fire prevention -engineering for industry and commerce

engineer school eth zuerich, switzerland: further education course in fire prevention -engineering for hospitals

ligo-informatik and migros school bern, switzerland: intensive computer courses in wordfor windows and excel

john deere engineering centre bremen, germany: technical engineering training on johndeere agricultural - machineries

wetrok educational centre zuerich, switzerland: management course in facilityengineering

sbm-consulting educational centre weil am rhein, germany: training and finalexamination in order processing and financial accounting with khk-sage software and pc-kaufmann professional

engineer school biel, switzerland: training and examination as security officer of licence“c” for the procurement of class “2” poison in industry and commerce

catering trade educational centre (gastro-zuerich) zuerich, switzerland: training andexamination as security officer in the restaurant and catering trade

languages and degree of proficiency:

german: mother tongue

english: reading, writing and speaking - good

portuguese: reading and speaking - good

kiswahili: speaking - good and writing fair

kishamba: knowledge’s (can be improved)

spanish: knowledge’s (can be improved)

countries of work experience:

germany, nigeria, brazil, switzerland, tanzania

strengths, talents and experiences:

strong mechanical skills

fundamental civil engineering and building experiences

electrical, plumbing and waste water treatment know-how

hygienic and cleaning education (with certificate)

cooking and food industry practice

accounting and budgeting abilities

cost and expenditure proficiency

education in fire prevention, emergency planning and training of workers in case of fireoutbreak incl. construction and structure measures on buildings

woodwork and carpenter skills

good basic knowledge of agriculture and horticulture

exceptionally computer competence

very hard working, excellent communication competence, working with minimum ofsupervision, team orientated and polyvalent in all subjects and areas

extensive management, engineering and hospitality skills

previous employments, assignments and positions:

bush to beach - tour operator and tented camp - arusha (mto wa mbu / karatu) -tanzania: short term assignment for staff training (kitchen), menu plan setting and varioustechnical matters at the tented camps

colobus mountain lodge - usa river - arusha - tanzania: short term expert for varioustechnical and administrative matters

oceanic view hotel resort - bagamoyo - tanzania: building engineer consultant for a hotelwith 92 rooms and conference facilities for 500 pax

baobab village - meru mbega and meru simba lodge - arusha - tanzania: short timeassignment by design the brochures and flyers for the entire lodge

weruweru river lodge - moshi - tanzania: lodge manager with a capacity of 80 guests swiss farm cottage - lushoto - tanzania: consultant and director for a small mountain lodge kiboko tan-swiss limited - tanga - tanzania: proprietor and director of a campsite and a

restaurant for 120 customers zehnacker ag - zuerich - switzerland: technical manager and facility engineer for hotels,

hospitals and other industries with over 600 employees tibits by hiltl ag - zuerich - winterthur and bern - switzerland: facility and safety engineer

for a vegetarian restaurant chain vebego services - dietikon - switzerland: mechanical and facility engineer for various

customers as hospitals, restaurants and hotels hws ag, salvisberg b + i - jegenstorf - switzerland: mechanical and facility engineer for

various customers as hospitals, restaurants and hotels nestle s.a. - kaduna and lagos - nigeria: estate project engineer and workshop manager

for a 2`000 hectare farm blindenheim bern - switzerland: facility and safety engineer for the home of blind with 120

inmates amboni limited - tanga - tanzania: estate engineer at several sisal estates in tanzania with

over 120 employees at the technical side

generally responsibilities, undertakings and duties for the above named companies:

in charge of safety engineering and poison procurement as well the further training andeducation of the relevant staff

computerized processing of orders, from the offer through to invoicing, customer andturnover analyses

cash management, budgeting, financial administration and control reporting technical and administrative matters to the board of directors writing and compiling of progress and monthly reports training courses to skilled and unskilled staff sale of the companies facility services to clients and customers develop and implement a workplace safety policy on the basis of the relevant legislation, and

conduct the corresponding staff training produce an inventory procedures of all machines and equipment produce a maintenance and operation file for all the equipments, machineries, gastronomic

technology and infrastructure

define, develop and implement measures to optimize maintenance and running costs(technology, infrastructure, hygiene, energy, water, waste disposal, working routines,cleaning, maintenance etc.)

responsible for facility and mechanical engineering supervision at the clients, mainly inhospitals, hotels and catering fields

assessment of facility installations and maintenance equipment, development ofmaintenance schemes for installing equipment and take the necessary steps for purchase ofinstalling and running equipment

organization and management of 22 external facility workshops in entirely switzerland e.g.hotels, restaurants and hospitals

expertise and assessment of new workshops and mechanical equipment for the facilityengineering departments

5.2 staff and organizational structure of swiss mountain lodge

as the personnel plan shows (see attachments), swiss mountain lodge is ready to invest in agood, competent team, which involves competitive compensations for employees and ongoingtraining to increase proficiency.some of the employees will already be hired during the building and construction phase, suchas gardeners, farm workers, road workers for upgrading the access road and unskilled workersto assist the craftsmen.most workers in the construction phase will be recruited locally since swiss mountain lodgemaintains a good relationship with the local community. for highly specialized labour swissmountain lodge has to get craftsmen from other parts of the country for higher wages.as english is not widely spoken and taught in the usambara mountains, swiss mountain lodgeintends to hold english courses for the workers on a regular basis. for this reason we willarrange for an english teacher to teach proper business english.there is a major requirement for training of the staff of swiss mountain lodge to be brought to anacceptable level. what is required is the development of a key position team by firstly identifyingskilled practitioners in the hospitality industry and then training them through “train-the-trainer”program on how to impart their knowledge and skill to the team. those key position workerswould also become the catalyst for training

5.3 staff requirement index

kitchen staff (cooks and helpers)since we are creating fresh meals from our gardens we have to be capable of preparing themeals in time, therefore we need adequate kitchen staff to deal with. in view of the fact that thekitchen staff is in additionally responsible for the kitchen hygienic and cleanness, as well aspreparing meals for the working and residing staff, we should not be understaffed at all

waiterto the same extent as the kitchen staff, the waiter team should not be understaffed since weprovide and offer to our guest’s to have their meals whichever at the chalet or otherwise at therestaurant. this concept is obviously labour demanding but to be exceptional and contrast to theother establishments, it is a necessity requirement

house keeping (cleaner) and laundrythese two departments will be one team since a lot of work at the same time comes up,especially when there are quantities of check outs in the morning in view of having the rooms

clean and arranged along with the essential additional requirements for the new arriving guest’s.before handing over any key to the new guest’s, the team leader himself will verify the rooms,after cleaning has been done, according to a particular inspection catalogue

gardeners and farming workersat the same time as the other departments, they have to be one team. responsible formaintenance and upkeep of the entire surrounding area, the vegetable farm and conservation ofthe access road. there are times as the farm worker has less work, the other way round, a lot ofwork at the farm has to be done in a short time. there are times like planting, harvesting orpreparing of the firewood stockpile, all over the place every helping hand is needed as welladditional part time workers are involved to cop up with the work to be done in time

maintenance, carpenter work shop and entertaining department (activities)those three sections in “one box” have to be very polyvalent in view of the fact to be on hand atany time by any section. all of the staff will be carpenters with focussing to both maintenanceand upkeep or tour guiding.the carpenter work duties includes, upkeep of the lodge buildings, create woodcrafts -accessories and gifts for our home made shop and carry out orders from other individuals whoare interested in our products. on demand they are occupied as tour guides and in the view offact, as they have a lot of contacts with our guest’s, it is an inevitable certainty that they speakmoderately english

accountant (outsourced)regarding a reliable accountant have we strike gold with mr. njovu steven who is known since 10years. he is a very experienced and qualified person concerning book-keeping affairs. he is theman who is in charge furthermore as accountant for the tanga tourism network association(tatona). his long-standing know-how and understanding for medium enterprises accountingwork is well known within the association members moreover in tanga region especially inlushoto too. he is well recognized with every one of tanzania revenue authority (tra). we haveused him for similar businesses for almost 10 years without take exception. the meaning is thatthe accountant is not employed with swiss mountain lodge. he will be on hand by demand as formonthly and yearly accounts closing and in cooperation with the auditor as well on demand if anaccounting problem arises

auditor (outsourced)the auditing partner is not yet identified, however in view of the fact that our accountant, mr.njovu steven is working all over in tanga region, he has a number of contacts to consistentauditing associates too. we prefer to have an auditing partner within lushoto district inconsecutively to make communication and consultation trouble-free

lawyer and legal representative (outsourced)likewise the legal representative has not been decided too. moreover it will be required to haveone attorney within lushoto district as for the same intention like the auditor associate

5.3 salary structure and number of working staff

the salary structure of swiss mountain lodge will be above the government salary schedule of85`000.- (~ $ 50.-) to 150`000.- (~ $ 90.-) tanzanian shillings, depends on experience, positionand responsibilities. this aspect will attract more skilled workers, encourage them therefore andmakes them to stay with a first - class employer too (less fluctuations). the other way roundswiss mountain lodge can put the working demands and standards high to achieve the goalssince the salaries are that outstanding.

salary amount is 11% of the annual expenses budget forecast (see enclosures at the budgetforecast). included in the amount are all government taxes and levies (sdl / nssf)another salary component will be worker accommodation, food and other allowances whichcomes to 2,5% of the annual expenses budget forecast (enclosure no. 3 / 4 / 5 / 6)salaries are graduated by then in responsibilities of the worker, age, experiences etc.

in full operating stage swiss mountain lodge will be engaged with 36 working staff (seeenclosure no. 18)

6.0 marketing & sales management

6.1 unique selling proposition

the main idea for swiss mountain lodge is to operate as a niche service provider foraccommodation, food and activities catering for individuals and small groups who want to traveloff the beaten tracks in tanzania

without to be arrogant, but by studying the above chapter “3.6 competitive analyses” and theinterpretation of the swiss mountain lodge business plan in all the aspects, there is nothing moreto add on since the concept of swiss mountain lodge is clearly stated and by becoming aware ofthe weaknesses from the competitors, since the weak points of them have been detected andrecognized

most important for making swiss mountain lodge successful will be to increase the remarkablereputation and high standing of mr. daeppen's services and to improve them continually.developing and delivering the value proposition is dependent upon mr. daeppen josef long timeexperience in the hospitality industry in particular in tanga and lushoto region. a network ofbusinesses and regional authorities has already been established in the past 10 years due tomr. daeppen's former business activities. his confidence and skills will lead to a growth in longterm relationships and trust on behalf of his customers, business partners and suppliers (seeenclosure no. 34)

6.2 corporate design - logo

doing justice to the wonderful natural resources of the usamabra mountains, the indigenousendemic usambara violet (st. paulina) was chosen as the logo of swiss mountain lodge. otherlogos, e.g. for the carpenter workshop, will portray the woodpecker. the nearby mkuzi waterfallis used for the hiking flyer and others will follow

6.3 pricing

swiss mountain lodge will target middle class income travellers.

the average high season rack rate per room and night will range from $ 60.- to $ 80.-in addition, there will be attractive rates to encourage guests to stay longer than the averagethree nights, such as “pay 4, stay 5 nights” or special rates for extended stays, such as 50 % offfor the 4th and 5th night at swiss mountain lodge.for selected, highly specialized international travel agencies and local tour operators, swissmountain lodge offers competitive sto rates that are 15 % less than the published rack ratedepending on yearly turnover of the particular customer

6.4 communication and sales activity proposal

experience of the past years has shown that guests coming to lushoto mostly book direct on theinternet. fewer rely on travel agents and tour operators. that's why the internet has beenidentified by swiss mountain lodge as an appropriate and effective medium of communication.swiss mountain lodge will target this primary group initially. in addition to the internet, our

communication will depend on the results of the marketing research swiss mountain lodge willbe initiating. swiss mountain lodge will advertise in industry magazines and special interestmagazines, will join mailing lists and do direct mails, as well as personal selling. initially, theservices will be introduced in the region to the tanzanian tour operators

traditional advertising, the use of internet and new media and visiting strategically importanttrade fairs will be the main advertising activities as well customer data collection and informationfor decision-making purposes

advertisements in selected electronic and print magazines a web site will be designed and linked with other stakeholders both within and out of

tanzania, such as travel websites (trip advisor - holiday check etc.), airlines, travel agents,tour operators etc.

brochures will be prepared and distributed to selected corporate entities and selectedembassies abroad

advertising in special interest magazines such as the tanga tourism guide and the karibu fairbrochure

participation at the yearly travel fair in arusha (karibufair, june) travel guide books as: stefan loose, lonely planet, rough guide, bradt, le routard, reise know

how, footprints, nelles travel guide etc. creating of a facebook account and post regularly on facebook (friends of swiss mountain

lodge) regular sales trips to arusha, moshi, dar es salaam and zanzibar to sell swiss mountain

lodge to local and international tour operators and agents organize of family trips for selected tanzanian based tour operators and agents joint mailing lists e.g. “wanawatu” list zanzibar - arusha mailing lists - dar es salaam mailing

lists etc. by sending internet newsletters to national and international tour operators and agents

most important for making swiss mountain lodge successful will be to increase theremarkable reputation and high standing of mr. daeppen's services and to improve themcontinually. developing and delivering the value proposition is dependent upon mr.daeppen josef long time experience in the hospitality industry in particular in tanga andlushoto region. a network of businesses and regional authorities has already beenestablished in the past 10 years due to mr. daeppen's former business activities. hisconfidence and skills will lead to a growth in long term relationships and trust on behalfof his customers, business partners and suppliers (see enclosure no. 34)

6.5 customers from prior businesses

swiss mountain lodge has data records and reviews of 150 prospective guests who can becontacted and invited to swiss mountain lodge. with regard that these guests are aware of theprevious quality given to them by mr. daeppen on prior occasions in tanga and lushoto, swissmountain lodge strongly believes they will be encouraged to visit the usambara mountains again(see enclosure no. 34)

6.6 networking - strategic alliances

due to the fact that direct bookings prevail swiss mountain lodge intends to provide services andadvice to their clients exceeding the actual stay. therefore, it is essential to provide informationand services that help costumers facilitating arrival in and departure from the usambaramountainsworking closely with various tour operators, tourism associations, hotels, resorts, and lodges inthe tanga region (coast), the northern circuit as well as zanzibar, mkomazi and sadaani nationalpark, swiss mountain lodge can provide an all-comprehending travel experience for their clientsfor example, direct costumers need assistance with arriving in tanzania by plane and stayingovernight afterwards. therefore, swiss mountain lodge has established good relationship toaccommodation and transport businesses in dar es salaam, tanga, arusha and moshi in thepast as, cooperating with royal mirage hotel in dar es salaam, tanga international conferencecentre in tanga, macho porini (tour operator) in arusha and snow crest hotel in moshi proofed tobe extremely helpful for travellers in the past

see at the particulars of some essential strategic partner contacts below. if the strategicpartner is not only a supplier to swiss mountain lodge, but also a potential futurecustomer to swiss mountain lodge it’s pointed out in grey

in lushoto:

irente biodiversity reserve (lodge) - exchange of guests, dairy and farm product supplier, threeseedling supplier and close co-operationmambo view point (lodge) - exchange of guests and close co-operationmullers mountain lodge - exchange of guests and close co-operationsed tours and adventures (guided tours) - close co-operationfriends of usambara society (guided tours and bikini trips) - close co-operationtayodea tour care (guided tours and biking) - close co-operationlutindi mental hospital and guest house (handicraft and guesthouse) - close co-operationlocal - district authorities and municipality of lushoto - close co-operationrain forest wardens - close co-operationtanesco power supply company - close co-operationtanzania revenue authorities - close co-operation

in tanga region:

tanga tourism network association (tatona) - mr. daeppen is a founder member and a boardmember of tatona - very close co-operation with all 45 members (as of 2011) member list see atthe attached enclosuresregional immigration office tanga - close co-operation

in tanzania and zanzibar:

coastal airline - dar es salaamsunshine hotel and lodge - zanzibar

africa safari experts - tour operator - arusha and germanybenoit ducarme - motor bike tour operator - dar es salaamdust busters - motor bike tour operator - arushatanga fresh - dairy productsdavis and shirtliff water treatment - dar es salaam and arushabiedermann leo - cheese supplier - panganibright choice - meat and frozen food products supplier - dar es salaameast africa glass ware mart - dar es salaamlondon bazaar - kitchen ware - arushatanga cement company - cement suppliernabaki africa - supplier of construction material - dar es salaam and arushaupper zonal traders - beverage supplier - dar es salaam and arushamacho porini - tour operator - arushabaobab villages - tour operator and lodging provider - arusha - selous - kilwabush to beach (b2b) - tour operator and tented camps - arusha - manyara

in switzerland, germany and austria:

a & m africa tours - anna conradi - travel office - switzerlandfriends of serengeti switzerland - mr. suter ruedi and markus bonerstefan loose travel guide - travel guide book - daniela eiletz kaube - germany and austriabushkomba adventure - travel office - germany

internationally:

global connection ttd - travel office - nederlandbush trucker tours - tour operator - swiss owned - nairobi - kenya

6.7 how to perform and increase social community - strategicalliances

there are a number of ways to involve the community in the ecotourism. in fact there willbe a process and learning about what the meaning of ecotourism contains as: villagers should have better understanding of the potential role of ecotourism in natural

resources conservation and community development

villagers should become aware of key issues in community based tourism, especiallysustainability and local management of benefits

identification of resource persons who will survey tourist attractions and design as welldevelop tourist trails in the villages together with swiss mountain lodge staff

english language training for local tour guides to provide sellable services, communicate withvisitors and entertain visitors

additional training for local tour guides as:

professionalism (check list of attractions and responsibilities, reception, briefing, start of aguided tour, guiding during a tour, water break points etc.)

qualities of tour guides (punctuality, sober, non-smoking, clean, smart, genuinewelcoming, with attitude, ability to keep promises, trustworthy and honest, patriotic, alert,co-operative, able to work in a team, knowledgeable, informative, hospitable, courteous,caring, kind, good sense of humour etc.)

communications skills (thinking before speaking, knowing the audience, choosing theright words, being interesting, awareness of the environment, knowing values of theaudience, getting feedback, use of voice, bo0dy language etc.)

other topics (handling complaints, minimizing environmental impacts of a tour, security ofvisitors, basic first aid etc.)

other important topics to be focused on (for additional information visit chapter 9.0): current trends and issues in ecotourism

realistic expectations on ecotourism (from the point of view of community and globally)

ecotourism in the context of national development

ecotourism and community development

networking of tourism stakeholders

tourism education and capacity building in the community

business aspects of community based ecotourism

participation of local people is needed in all stages of ecotourism planning, implementation andevaluation. to increase effective participation, raising local people’s awareness of the potential ofecotourism and value of their natural surroundings is needed. local communities’ awareness ofwhat to offer for potential visitors, including natural and cultural attractions, must be increased.

education and capacity building is needed in the community so that it will have skills provide thenecessary tourism services and as well the area should have a tourism marketing strategy.

7.0 setting up swiss mountain lodge

7.1 year 1 - construction phase

a) obtaining tic certificate (month 1)

tic (tanzania investment centre) is a tanzania government agency, established to encourage,promote and facilitate investments in tanzania. tic is an efficient and well run agency,responsible for:

assist in setting up of enterprises obtain necessary licenses, work permits, visas and approvals sort out any other administrative barriers that investments might encounter promote investment activities grant certificates of incentives and investment guaranties for all foreign investments above

usd 300`000.- land survey and get hold of the title deed. this can be done during the construction phase.

according to tic, it is not a must to have the title deed for applying the certificate of incentives.the sales documents of the land with a confirmation letter of the district authorities areadequate to invest at the plot area. the title deed can be obtained afterwards which can takesome months to go

as soon as final agreement with an investor(s) for the project is done, swiss mountain lodge willapply for registration of a tanzanian company to get all required permits through the support oftic moshi branch. projected time: 1 month

b) building permission and construction (month 1 - 12)

application for building certificate (will not hinder to start construction while waiting for thecertificate)

setting up vital infrastructure at project site mkuzi, such as: 3 phase power line with owntransformer, sufficient water supply and storage, improvement of 1,5 km access path frommain road to the site

construction of a plant for handling wastewater and sewage construction of main building with restaurant, reception, office, sanitary rooms, 5 twin room

bungalows (chalets), manager house, and staff quarters with stores and laundry etc. installing of water supply infrastructure and water storage facilities purchase of two vehicles, preferable one pick - up and one mini bus signposts from lushoto to mkuzi swiss mountain lodge

after 12 months of construction and building, swiss mountain lodge will start operating whilesome construction and landscaping work will still go on (see enclosure no. 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15 /16 / 17)

c) transitional period (end of year 1 and beginning of year 2)

hiring and training of staff “soft opening” after 2 weeks training of staff. this means swiss mountain lodge invites friends

and people who were somehow involved in the project such as officials, authorities, suppliersand other individuals who are related to the hospitality industry to stay at swiss mountainlodge for a cost covering price. this gives the entire team a chance to get organized, noticemistakes and correct them

at the same time swiss mountain lodge will arrange with journalists and the tanzanianbroadcasting companies as well as other enterprises related to advertising to visit swissmountain lodge and stay on a complimentary basis to get sufficient media coverage

7.2 year 2 - first year of operation

sales of over $ 200`000.- (see enclosure no. 3 / 7 / 8) 20% occupancy rate / ~ 200 bed - nights per month keep the deficit beneath $ 25`000.- additional further developing of special interest products to a high - level standard (historical

special excursions archaeological expeditions, ornithological route, anthropological courseand cultural awareness)

improve and expand the existing activity and soft adventure products (additional usambaramountain hot - spots to visit, mountain bike tours etc.)

developing a cultural - historical product as tailor made trips to individual cultural occasionsand historical locations etc. this is depending on the priority demands of the customers,which has to be closely observed and put in action

intensifying and expanding of the marketing activities as mentioned under chapter 4.3)

7.3 year 3 - second year of operation

sales of over $ 250`000.- (see enclosure no. 4 / 7 / 8)

30% occupancy rate / ~ 250 bed - nights per month achieving of no deficit or at least below $ 5`000.- intensifying of strategic market alliances to tourism stakeholders as tour operators and other

important partners in the tourism sector physically and powerful appearance at the “karibufair” travel trade fair exhibition in arusha by

having our own designed stall. tie up new contacts with tour operators and agents along withother important tourism stakeholders and suppliers (nationally and internationally). deepen ofexisting contacts to all sorts of tourism stakeholders and suppliers

image creation as swiss mountain lodge is a soft eco - tourism lodge, emphasising theabundance of flora and fauna of the usambara mountains

collecting and assessing of vital figures, indication facts, and tendencies in the tourismmarket for future marketing strategic use as for market trends and growths, visitor surveyfigures etc. to put the information into action for short term and pave the way for middle andlong term decision if needed

7.4 year 4 - third year of operation

sales of over $ 300`000.- (see enclosure no. 5 / 7 / 8) increasing the occupancy rate to 40% and 50% of the room capacity / ~ 300 bed - nights per

month realizing of break even (see enclosure no. 9) the first profit forecast is budgeted with $ 25`000.- for the third year of operation. the profit

made in year tree of operation should be re - invested back into the project to improvebelated recognised inadequate issues and obstacles wherever is needed

intensifying of all means regarding marketing measures as described and mentioned underchapter 3.7 / / 4.1 / 4.3 / 4.5

7.5 year 5 - fourth year of operation

sales of over $ 350`000.- (see enclosure no. 6 / 7 / 8) the occupancy rate will come up to 60% and more by year four / ~ 350 bed - nights per

month the projected profit forecast of year four is considered to be between $ 70`000.- and $

80`000.- by year four of operation, swiss mountain lodge will be by now well established and

recognized in the market as from the tour operator side, the customer sector and supplierpart

swiss mountain lodge will undertake an inventory of tourism resources. this would involve notjust an enumeration of the various resources, amenities and facilities - but also include aqualitative description for further action

swiss mountain lodge will put its focus once more on sustainable development by using allpotential resources and methods, to illustrate and display that swiss mountain lodge is theleading hospitality provider in the usambara mountains and in tanga region as whole

7.6 year 5 + +

sales forecast of over $ 450`000.- will be the order of the day

occupancy rate find its own level within 60% and 75% of the room capacity. that meansswiss mountain lodge will sell around 350 to 400 bed - nights per month (12 to 14 bed -nights per day)

profit forecast by year five will be above $ 80`000.- per annum

by year five of operation, swiss mountain lodge will be by then established as the usambaramountain flagship of sustainable and local eco - tourism with additional services andproducts as mentioned under chapter 4.6

7.7 summaries of management's future plans

by consideration and reflection after 4 years successful operation of swiss mountain lodge,the idea and concept of swiss mountain lodge could now be transferred into other similarsettings in tanzania as the east arch usambara mountains (amani), udzungwa mountainsnational park (near iringa) or other similar spots comparable to the usambara mountains. aswell it should be taken into account, whether there is a need to have two swiss mountainlodges in the eastern arc usambara mountains

the swiss mountain lodge concept may well be sold to other prospective investors in alicensed franchising structure. this is one way like swiss mountain lodge may grow for thefuture. the swiss mountain lodge concept is made for small eco - tourism lodges. the size ofanother swiss mountain lodge should not be oversized to keep the exceptional swissmountain lodge feeling

it is strongly to consider, that with the profit earnings of swiss mountain lodge, the localcommunity should get the share out of it in one and the other way. there are a lot of things todo to them, it starts with infrastructure for fresh water, sewage system, waste disposalsystem, access facilities to the small farms, schooling facilities. swiss mountain lodge couldbe as well a flagship in community work in the usambara mountains (see under chapter 9.0for further information)

8.0 financial and funding requests

cost review of the proposed swiss mountain lodge project

expenses to obtain a certificate of incentive, lawyer including all other administrative costsetc. are $ 15`000.-

infrastructure pre - works at the premises as power and water supply, access road upgradingcosts $ 66`000.-

building of all planned structures as twin chalets, main building, staff quarters with stores andother key buildings to a cost of $ 532`000.-

vehicles, road signposts, unforeseen and others are estimated with $ 51`000.- deficit covering for the first year of operation with an estimated shortfall of $ 25`000.- deficit covering for the second year of operation near to $ 6`000.-

complete investment cost until year three of operating is estimated with $ 695`000.-

as under chapter - 1.4 financial requirements and figures - previously mentioned that all therequired equipments, to operate the lodge, are included in the summary estimate

a possible investment form could be together with one single prime investor or severalinterested investor individuals. according to that shares would be agreed in accordance to theinvestment amount. a sole investor would hold the central interest, while small investors wouldhold different block of shares and paid dividends accordingly

preferably swiss mountain lodge would like to have several small scale investors, who arewilling to split the amount according their financial means and abilities of each investor

according to experience and by consulting architects with similar projects and experiences, thebuilding cost per square meter diverge from $ 240.- (per m2) for buildings with low densityinfrastructure as furniture and accessories etc.; to $ 350.- for buildings with high concentrationof infrastructure accessories. on behalf of buildings with no room infrastructures the squaremeter price reduces it to $ 110.-

swiss mountain lodge is not to be seen as a “maximization of profit” project but as anenvironmentally sustainable, ecologically friendly and socially responsible investment in anexceptional magnificent ecosystem as the usambara mountains are to be

swiss mountain lodge considers contributing every year 10% of the achieved profit to the villagecommunity for various projects yet be evaluated

9.0 community corporate tasks

9.1 social responsibilities

swiss mountain lodge is aware of the negative impact that tourism can create and we arecommitted to spread the benefits of tourism to previously disadvantaged communities bysharing our skills and knowledge, connecting communities with opportunities, funding andfacilitation

it is swiss mountain lodge’s policy to:

develop tourism with dignity, respect and nurture local cultures (including religion), so thatthey enrich the tourism experience and build pride and confidence among local communities

ensure communities are involved in and benefit from tourism and that exploitation and over-commercialisation of local cultures is avoided

use tourism as a catalyst for human development, focussing on gender equality and careerdevelopment

coordinating training programmes to develop skills within the framework of the skills develop relationships with local communities based on trust, empowerment, co - operation

and partnerships and respect indigenous intellectual property recruit and employ staff in an equitable and transparent manner and maximise the proportion

of staff employed from the local community as the project develops and becomes viable it will provide structures for the local community

to improve their skills in order to participate in the management and rewards of swissmountain lodge

o provide appropriate ongoing skills training programmes for staffo involve the community in the planning, decision - making and the development of

tourismo support the development of sustainable local crafts by assisting with improvement

of design, marketing, production and packaging skills whilst ensuring that theymaintain the authenticity and cultural values of their products

o provide information to guests about the host culture and traditions, local servicesand attractions, and encourage them to use them

o educate guests to respect local customs and traditions and make them aware ofhow they should behave in this regard

o create opportunities for visitors to interact with locals in an unstructured,spontaneous manner

o protect the community against negative social and cultural impacts associated withtourism, such as increased crime, drug and alcohol abuse, prostitution, and crime

tourism is one of many processes or factors that contributes to social and culture change in hostcommunities. some of the direct and indirect impacts that may be associated with tourism aresummarized in table below

respect for local culture and tradition is integral to “responsible tourism” practice of swissmountain lodge. “responsible tourism” requires the establishment of trust and effectivecommunication between everyone involved in the tourism encounter. trust and communicationprovide the basis for information exchange, cultural understanding and tolerance of difference.

“responsible tourism” is about embracing and respecting cultural variation, not only to avoidconflict and other negative aspects of culture contact but also to explore the potential for“responsible” commercial tourism products that are based on culture and heritage

potential socio - cultural effects of tourism on host communities

positive effects negative effects

tourism can lead to new domesticarrangements and gender rolesthat create new opportunities forwomen and young people

tourism can keep culturaltraditions alive engendercommunity pride and encouragecreative art

tourism provides opportunitiesfor cultural exchange andbroadening of horizons

tourism can create new /expanded public services andamenities

tourism can create economicstability and improved livingstandards

tourism can promote use andconservation of natural andcultural resources

tourism can improve quality of fireprotection

tourism can lead to improvededucation

tourism can support indigenouslanguages

tourism can lead to new domestic arrangementsand gender roles that create social tension (e.g.reduced esteem for elders and/or men)

local people may try to imitate tourists which canlead to disillusionment, and cultural drift

tourism can lead to the co modification of culture

tourism can increase pollution and deplete naturalresources

tourism can increase crime, prostitution, begging,alcohol and drug abuse, and can also lead to thespread of disease

tourism can lead people to change theircultural

practices (e.g. arts, craft, dress, festivals) to meetthe real or perceived needs of tourists

tourism can exacerbate existing social inequalitiesand create new ones

tourism can engender new forms of moral conduct, family relations, recreation and community

organization, which may lead to conflict amongstindividuals and/or social groups

tourists can offend local people (e.g. by wearingrevealing clothing or visiting private / sacred sites).

an influx of tourists can lead to loss oflanguage, artifacts

the benefits of social responsibility

any enterprise that employs people, works with people, purchases services and products frompeople, and/or provides activities for visitors will engender a range of social impacts. there arevarious reasons why swiss mountain lodge should attempt to manage these impacts, in theirown interests as well as in the interests of others. some of these reasons are summarizedbelow:

sustainable use of shared resources. many tourism enterprises rely upon communal orpublic resources that are used by many parties. acting in a socially responsible mannerleads to improved co - operation between resource users and mutually acceptable,sustainable use

destination success. the success of an individual tourism enterprise is linked to the broadersuccess of the tourism destination in which it is situated. co - operation between government,communities and the private sector on the broader planning, management and marketing ofthe destination will be beneficial to all

improved problem solving. tourism enterprises are sometimes faced with problems that theycannot solve on their own. a good example is crime, which is best addressed through acollective approach to safety and security that involves community members, governmentand other role players. for instance, rock tail bay (www.rocktailbay.com), which is operatedby wilderness safaris, (www.wildnerness-safaris.com) employs a community - based securityservice that became part of a wider community - policing forum. this strategy has beenextremely effective in curbing local crime to the benefit not only of tourists but also of thehost community more generally

appropriate community benefits. “responsible tourism” is about ensuring that hostcommunities have a say in how they would like to benefit from tourism, and how they wouldlike these benefits to be distributed

improved supply and other business linkages. swiss mountain lodge will benefit from theestablishment of linkages with local suppliers as well as with complementary tourismproducts in the area

mutual respect. “responsible tourism” swiss mountain lodge respect their neighbors, and viceversa. this shared respect leads to improved communication and co - operation betweenswiss mountain lodge and host communities, which in turn enrich the overall tourismexperience

action plan for social responsibility

as noted above, social responsibility is desirable for a number of reasons - not least of allbecause it makes good business sense. but how does swiss mountain lodge go aboutbecoming more socially responsible? what does social responsibility mean in practice?

as summarized below, a tourism enterprise that wants to operate in a socially responsiblemanner needs to undertake a series of concrete actions designed to create, execute, support,monitor and promote enterprise - specific strategies for socially “responsible tourism”. thetargets set by swiss mountain lodge should be realistic yet challenging, and benchmarksemployed should be easily measured and relevant to the social responsibility objectives of theenterprise

swiss mountain lodge strategies should incorporate one or more of the followingareas of social responsibility like:

creating partnerships establishing a social contract supporting community development tourist activities and information recruitment and employment capacity building, training and skills development

taking action towards social responsibility

action 1 commit the enterprise to working according to an ethic of social responsibility.

action 2 identify and support a member of staff who will be tasked with monitoring andreporting on social responsibility within the enterprise

action 3 set targets and benchmarks to monitor social responsibility progress andperformance

action 4 create a strategy with an implementation plan

action 5 educate and motivate staff to be socially responsible

action 6 invite suggestions from staff, tourists and others as to how the enterprise canimprove its social responsibility efforts

action 7 showcase social responsibility initiatives and projects to guests, and ideallyemploy a local guide or community representative to facilitate site visits

9.2 economic responsibilities

swiss mountain lodge appreciates that promoting tourism, increasing linkages, planninginitiatives and investments will contribute to the broader economic development for the area andthe community within the project proposal

it is swiss mountain lodge’s policy to:

empower communities to market their cultural traditions and products as assets andenhance their economic opportunities

work closely with local communities and entrepreneurs to develop new products that providecomplementary products for the tourism industry

develop partnerships and joint ventures in which communities have a significant stake, and asubstantial role in management.

ensure that the risk is equitably shared when entering into agreements with localcommunities or emerging entrepreneurs

maintain and encourage economic diversity, whilst avoiding over - dependency on tourism buy locally - made goods and use locally provided services from locally owned businesses

wherever quality, quantity, and consistency permits in order to minimize the revenue that“leaks” out of the local area

pay fair prices for local services and products encourage visitors to spend more money in the local economy make clients aware of the responsible purchasing policy

swiss mountain lodge will communicate economic responsibilities by:

provide information

providing guests with information about the local economy (e.g.household income, school fees, unemployment, etc).

showcase any corporate social investment activities by providing detailsof money spent, infrastructure created

providing guests with information about current or planned socialinfrastructure projects

demonstrate the impactdemonstrate the impact that a relatively small amount of money (e.g. tshs60`000.- per month, about 35.- us - dollars) can make to a poor ruralhousehold

create opportunitiesensure that guests are able to spend money locally and encourage themto do so

make it possible for clients who want to support local projects to do so

solicit feedback

guest feedback forms should include a list of ‘responsibility’ questionsthat can solicit general impressions as well as specific information aboutvisitor expenditure in the local economy

feedback can be used to profile clients and increase return business

showcase staff benefits swiss mountain lodge will make sure that guests are aware of training andother benefits to staff

consider a local tourenable interested guests to visit neighbouring communities and makesure they are informed about how swiss mountain lodge has benefitedthe local economy (e.g. improved living standards, more schools, moreshops, etc).

9.3 environmental responsibilities

swiss mountain lodge abides the environmental and conservation policies

further it is swiss mountain lodge’s policy to:

advise and ensure that guests behaviour respects the natural heritage and has a low impactupon it, by using designated trails, not collecting seeds and removing plants, and by notfeeding animals

working close with suppliers to minimise the amount of packaging purchased with supplies,and therefore reducing the amount of waste that needs to be disposed of

avoid or minimize pollution by using environmentally friendly chemicals, and by usingbiodegradable soaps and detergents

ensure that staff are familiar with the issues and ways of avoiding environmental impacts andto communicate it to guests

buy crafts that are sustainable produced educate guests by building sensitively placed trails and hides, with interpretation material for

guests educate local communities about the importance of sustainable natural resource

management have clearly labelled separate bins for wet waste, plastics, glass and tin to help recycling compost food waste on site and to use it to fertilise the lodge grounds store, collect and dispose of hazardous waste safely and according to government

regulations inform guests and train staff how they can help with water and energy conservation invert in and develop renewable energy technology for minimising the greenhouse gas

impact of swiss mountain lodge and practise sustainable energy consumption

the benefits of environmental management and biodiversity conservation

tanzania is one of the most ecologically diverse countries in the world, with habitats includingforests, mountains, swamps, savannah, rivers, thickets and a long and beautiful stretch ofcoastline. this natural heritage, combined with the rich cultural heritage, is the foundation fortanzanias tourism sector. needless to say, it is vital that all tanzanians take responsibility formaintaining the integrity of the national natural resources and the rich biodiversity that theysupport

tourism enterprises, especially those engaged in nature - based activities, have an especiallyvital role to play in maintaining and expanding this biodiversity. even small, local initiatives canhave impacts of international importance!

how does a tourism operation affect conservation and biodiversity?

swiss mountain lodge can affect the local environment and its biodiversity values in a number ofways - both positive and negative. “responsible” operators will recognise this inter - relationshipand attempt to manage the impacts in such a way that swiss mountain lodge leaves a netpositive impact on the environment. to determine how swiss mountain lodge impacts on thenatural world, it is necessary to examine all aspects of the operation over the life cycle of swissmountain lodge

9.4 “responsible tourism” and the (triple) bottom line

aside from decreasing operating costs, managing swiss mountain lodge responsibly makesgood business sense for at least three reasons:

“responsible tourism” is aligned to the international trend towards responsiblebusiness practice

“responsible tourism” meets the growing market demand for responsible tourismproducts

“responsible tourism” makes customers, staff and investors feel good

recent market research in the uk and elsewhere has pointed towards a positive trend inconsumer and sector demand for “responsible tourism” products. this research suggests thatethical business practices can provide commercial advantage, and that “responsible tourism”can be a positive marketing tool - provided that claims of responsibility are credible and basedon demonstrable delivery of responsible activities and objectives

although most tourists make purchasing decisions based on such factors as price, weather, typeand range of facilities and quality, more and more tourists are also concerned about the ethicsof travel. a recent survey by the uk - based ngo “tearfund”, for instance, found that britishconsumers are more likely to book a holiday based on availability of information about thecountry, reduced environmental impact and meeting local people on holiday than on whether ornot they had used the company before

significantly, the data suggests that consumers (and thus trade) demand for “responsibletourism” products is increasing - and that more and more people want to purchase responsibleholidays. in 2007 and again in 2009, “tearfund” asked holidaymakers whether they would bemore likely to book a holiday with a company that had a written code guaranteeing goodworking conditions, protection of the environment and support of local charities in the touristdestination. the proportion of respondents saying, “yes” rose from 45% to 52% between the twoyears - that’s a 7% shift in demand towards responsible tourism products!

the ‘feel good’ factor

positive publicity and customer feedback associated with responsible business activitiesengender good relationships with staff and shareholders, while simultaneously paving the wayfor meaningful partnerships with local businesses and communities. the importance of the ‘feelgood’ factor cannot be underestimated, for example in accounting for the value of positive word- of - mouth advertising and the role played by staff in shaping the (positive or negative) qualityof the swiss mountain lodge tourism experience

responsible action by one business, like swiss mountain lodge will be, also helps to encouragesimilar and even improved initiatives within other companies and enterprises. this ‘domino effect’will ultimately lead to positive action within industry as a whole, which in turn can help toposition of the usambara mountains, tanga region and tanzania as whole as a leadingresponsible tourism destination

what are some of the adverse impacts of tourism and why do they exist?

as an economic activity, tourism consumesresources, creates waste and has specificinfrastructure needs

the resources used for tourism purposes tend tobe of high quality and are often non - renewable

construction in fragile areas may cause permanentdamage to environments

tourism is a resource dependent sector, whichmust compete for often scarce resources tosurvive. the tendency to over-useresources is high

once a threshold has been reached, adverseeffects can rapidly occur over large areas

often the resource demands of tourism are indirect conflict with the demands of communities(e.g. for agriculture)

tourism is mainly a private sector activity which ispre - occupied with profit maximisation

the competitiveness of the sector makes voluntarycompliance with environmental protectionprogrammes highly unlikely

programmes to avoid / mitigate negative impactsare low priority unless there are financial savingsor legislative imperatives

tourism is a diverse and multi - faceted sector

lack of supervision / control

planning only as strong as the private sector will toimplementthem

tourists are consumers, not anthropologists

tourists are escaping from everyday life, and donot want to be burdened with everyday problems

tourists are often ignorant or indifferent to theneeds of host communities and ecosystems

tourism generates income by attracting clientsrather than exporting its product.

local residents / communities bear theconsequences of tourism, e.g. pollution, resourcedepletion, increased pressure on infrastructure

the issue of improved livelihoods is particularly relevant to swiss mountain lodge, because thepeople living in close proximity to the lodge have a major impact on the protection of naturalresources. not surprisingly, local residents who are excluded economically and socially fromtourism will have little if any stake in the sustainable use of natural resources, including wildlifeand habitat. there are numerous examples from throughout africa that document the rapiddecline of biodiversity through the agency of people who are excluded from the benefitsresource - dependent activities like tourism. however the converse is also true: “when localresidents are empowered to participate meaningfully in tourism activities, the overall tourismexperience is greatly enhanced”

9.5 marketing of the corporate responsibilities

marketing is essential to the operation and survival of each and every tourism business

swiss mountain lodge responsible marketing is about:

truth in advertising. swiss mountain lodge will be honest about the quality, range and price ofexperience/s offered, and ensure that guests get more or less what they bargained forincluding a range of information about local attractions in promotional materials (e.g.brochures, website)

swiss mountain lodge will promote informal / emerging tourism enterprises and encouragingguests as well as tour operators to include these in their itineraries. wherever possible, swissmountain lodge will put tour operators and smmes in direct contact with each other, whichempowers disadvantaged people to participate in the tourism ‘mainstream’

swiss mountain lodge will promote diverse complementary local products, services andattractions to the clients, before they arrive, and when they are with swiss mountain lodge.word - of - mouth advertising is very strong. swiss mountain lodge will report on how promotelocal activities, and report on visitation by guests

swiss mountain lodge will ensure that additional products ‘fit’ the enterprises marketingimage, its product and the type of source market in which swiss mountain lodge is operating.to avoid confusion over the type of product marketed as well to avoid misunderstanding bytourists and/or tour operators concerning the type of experience they can expect from swissmountain lodge

swiss mountain lodge will closely monitoring local products. swiss mountain lodge shouldmonitor the number of local products advertised in its literature; the proportion of spaceprovided to them as well as the impressions of customers (e.g. did the inclusion of suchinformation influence purchasing behaviour?). provision of new and complementary productsmay encourage tourists to stay longer at a particular location (e.g. more bed - nights) and inturn spend more money in the area. swiss mountain lodge will report on its attempts tomarket responsibly and on any improvement in tourist spend and length of stay

9.6 summary of corporate responsibilities

the main goals of swiss mountain lodge have been identified as follows:

the inter - action of tourists and the rural community in a mutually beneficial way the advancement of social responsibilities and skills training the promotion of sustainable natural resource management addressing needs such as health care the promotion of sports and cultural development the creation of responsible, consultative community projects

in addition swiss mountain lodge will introduce and establish to:

create employment and provided skills training opportunities in both the developmentand operational stages of the project

assist with ongoing training, marketing and reservations at swiss mountain lodge provide basic hands - on specialised training during all phases of the project source of local materials for the construction

on a practical level, swiss mountain lodge has been at the forefront of identifying areas ofpotential and has negotiated with the communities and stakeholders to conceptualise andmanage projects. in line with the goals, great importance has been attached to a "hands - on"approach at grass roots level. good community relations at the lodge will be instrumental in theadvancement of successful eco - tourism as a whole. a number of concurrent projects have alsobeen identified.at “migambo” and “n`gambo” (the two nearest villages to the swiss mountain lodge project site),mr. daeppen josef similarly have assist them in many different ways in the past 3 years, allserving to enhance the quality of life of the community. not only is employment stimulatedwherever possible, but developments such as assistance at schools and self - managementschemes. a bed levy will be introduced which is administered by a committee made up of bothcommunity residents and lodge management. the committee identifies projects and allocatesthe funds appropriately with a view to managing the projects. the involvement of the communityalso provides activities, which are of interest to guests, such as a visit to a traditional village;afro - botanical walks and visits to the local school etc.it will be a long road to go, but at the end of the day, the co - operation, understandingand commitment existing between all parties will led to a marriage not only ofconvenience but also of adaptation.on a macro level, it is intended that awareness of the importance of national tourism should beexpanded amongst the local populace and through this the essential role that a vibrant andunsullied environment incorporating game is underlined. the co - operation of all in protectingand preserving the continent's remaining wilderness (forests) and wildlife areas is paramount inensuring that future generations are able to enjoy the bounty of the usambara mountains inparticular and tanzania in the whole

“responsible tourism”, put simply, is about providing better holiday experiences forguests and good business opportunities for swiss mountain lodge. “responsibletourism” is also about enabling local communities to enjoy a better quality of life throughincreased socio - economic benefits and improved natural resource management. thekey elements of which swiss mountain lodge can be defined in terms of:

developing, managing and marketing tourism in ways that create competitive advantage assessing and monitoring the environmental, social and economic impacts of tourism

developments, and openly disclosing information ensuring the active involvement of communities that benefit from tourism, including their

participation in planning and decision - making and the establishment of meaningfuleconomic linkages

maintaining and encouraging natural, economic, social and cultural diversity avoiding waste and over - consumption, and promoting the sustainable use of local

resources.

creating responsible partnerships

generating and maintaining effective lines of co - operation and communication between theprivate sector, government and communities is a cornerstone of “responsible tourism”. thisprocess of communication and co - operation is often denoted by the use of the term‘partnership’. while ‘partnership’ is a necessary aspect of socially “responsible tourism”, it isimportant to specify the nature and scope of the relationship. indeed, there are almost countlessreasons why a tourism enterprise might want to establish partnerships with others. in theabsence of precise definitions and terms for partnerships, the parties may experience unfulfilledexpectations, confusion, misunderstanding and even conflict. responsible partnerships withswiss mountain lodge can be established along the lines described below

establishing responsible partnerships: an enterprise perspective

step 1 swiss mountain lodge should define its own objectives and clarify how these objectives willbe met through co - operation with others

step 2swiss mountain lodge should identify prospective partners based on the objectives to be met.partners may be drawn from the public, private and/or community sectors. special careshould be taken to ensure that disadvantaged parties have not been excluded from thisprocess of identifying and selecting partners

step 3 swiss mountain lodge should identify the mandated representatives of all partners. whendealing with communities, certain issues should be taken into account

step 4

swiss mountain lodge should (re)define the objectives of co - operation in consultationwith all partners. the partnership arrangement should benefit all the partners. this processmay require the skills of a reputable independent facilitator, especially where there arelanguage differences between the parties. try to accommodate the language needs of allparties, especially those with the weakest capacity and to keep all partners informed

step 5

the parties should choose a method of co-operation. this method will derive from theobjectives. in some cases an informal arrangement may be sufficient; however it may benecessary to create a formal structure with legal standing. in particular formal structures arerequired if funds will be distributed / managed and if the structure is to have any decision-making authority. widely used methods of co - operation include:

a management board (to involve partners in the management of the enterprise or activity) a trust (to manage flow of benefits to partners, in particular to the wider community) a communication forum (to tackle issues of joint concern, such as resource management,

safety & security)

step 6

the parties should implement the chosen method of co-operation. throughout theimplementation process, it is important to:

enable weaker / marginalized partners to participate fully and meaningfully make it easy for all partners and representatives to attend meetings report on the assistance provided to ‘emerging’ partners in terms of time, training, advice,

transport and other resources

step 7 the parties should monitor and report on the success of the co - operative structure againstthe objectives set by the parties

local people as tourists

one of the priority areas for tourism growth and redistribution in the usambara mountains is toincrease the level of domestic travel and spend across the country. a key component oftanzanias tourism growth strategy is to stimulate demand for travel by historically disadvantagedindividuals (“hdis”), while simultaneously developing products and packages that suit the needsand spending patterns of non - traditional tourists. “responsible tourism” enterprises arecognizant of this need to grow domestic tourism, which will benefit the industry as a whole.“responsible tourism” swiss mountain lodge can help to stimulate demand by “hdis” byundertaking one or more of the activities

enabling the local people to see themselves as a part of the tourism industry. a menu ofpossible options at swiss mountain lodge level to:

provide opportunities for tourists to interact with local people. through formal as well asinformal exposure to tourists, local residents can appreciate what it means to be a tourist andraise their general understanding of tourism as an economic activity. swiss mountain lodgewill report on activities undertaken

monitor and report on the number of visits to local events and establishments undertaken byyour clientele. facilitate trips that treat everyday life as an attraction and provide opportunitiesfor informal interaction between guests and local residents. swiss mountain lodge will obtainfeedback from guests and community members regarding the value of these trips

encourage staff to provide guest lectures in local schools, and provide teachers and learnerswith information about tourism in general and the enterprise in particular. swiss mountainlodge will record the number of lectures and amount of information provided per annum

undertake market research in the local community to determine what types of tourism andleisure activities are in demand locally, and what local people are willing to pay for theseactivities. we consider providing some of these activities to diversify the products and targetmarkets

allow school groups to visit the enterprise, to enhance learning about tourism. help scholarsto understand what it means to be a tourist. scholars will share their experiences with theirparents, who may become interested in visiting tourist attractions and facilities. however theprovision of access to school groups should not conflict with the needs and expectations ofguests

consider offering discounted rates to local residents so that they may experience swissmountain lodge, for instance during periods of low occupancy. we will ensure that discountsare transparent and report on the rates charged and the numbers of local visitors received

supporting community development

tourism can be an effective local livelihood option provided that it supports thedevelopment of the host community. “responsible tourism” is about helping local peopleto realise their vision for local development. at swiss mountain lodge level, the followingoptions could be pursued: determining the immediate needs of the local community through discussions with its

members. swiss mountain lodge will report on the means and content of communication (e.g.through minting of meetings)

swiss mountain lodge will determining which of the proposed options / projects are feasiblefor the tourism

enterprise or network of local tourism enterprises, to facilitate. swiss mountain lodge willensure that expectations are not raised to unrealistic levels. if swiss mountain lodge cannotsupport desired initiatives, then this should be communicated honestly. swiss mountain lodgewill advise the community on other sources of assistance

developing a community development mission statement with objectives in consultation withstaff and the local community. swiss mountain lodge will showcase this mission and report onprogress made

creating a strategy for implementation. swiss mountain lodge will make the strategy availableto staff and community members for review, and showcase this information to clients (e.g. onthe website, in brochures).

evaluating local infrastructure design and operation in relation to the current and projectedtourism market. swiss mountain lodge will identify gaps and areas where the enterprise andthe community can work together to improve the situation (e.g. quality of roadcommunication networks etc.)

cooperating with local communities to identify priority sites for improvements. this mayinclude ‘adopting’ a school or clinic or public area. swiss mountain lodge will monitor thenumber of projects supported, the money spent, employment created, etc. reporttransparently on the source of investment (e.g. from tourism revenue, donations fromtourists, donations from corporations; dividends from shareholdings). swiss mountain lodgewill ensure that the sites are safe and secure for tourists to visit, and promote the sites astourist attractions

promoting local cuisine by including local dishes in menus offered to guests. swiss mountainlodge consider including at least one local dish on each menu, and create opportunities forlocal entrepreneurs to produce, supply and serve local cuisine with interpretation to guests(e.g. presentations on the meaning and historical origins of the foods). local cuisine, howeverbasic, is an important source of information and ‘entertainment’ for tourists. swiss mountainlodge will report on activities undertaken and feedback from guests

supporting the development and growth of a sustainable local handicraft industry by:

offering tourists excursions to local workshops and craft markets. such excursions canbe commercially attractive to swiss mountain lodge if we are part of the package offered toguests, in which case swiss mountain lodge and the place/s visited share the commission.even if tourists do not purchase goods at each site, community enterprises still benefit fromthe per - visit fee

setting a target for the number of tourists, or number of trips that swiss mountain lodge willfacilitate for visitors to make to local craft markets. swiss mountain lodge will monitor andreport on the progress achieved

monitoring the increasing local economic impact of swiss mountain lodge visits by obtainingfeedback from vendors or by monitoring commissions paid to local attractions

promoting the development of improved design, production, packaging and presentation ofcrafts. swiss mountain lodge will make sure that crafters are aware of the tastes, needs andprice sensitivities of guests. swiss mountain lodge will provide producers with samples of thetype and quality of product that would appeal to swiss mountain lodge clientele, or that couldbe utilised as part of the swiss mountain lodge décor. swiss mountain lodge will monitor thenumber of new products that become available and the revenue generated for localproducers

providing advice on pricing, packaging and distribution of goods. swiss mountain lodge willuse workshops, meetings and demonstrations to make local people aware of the issues andbenefits. swiss mountain lodge will monitor and document the advice provided andcorresponding responses by producers

displaying local crafts for resale in our swiss mountain lodge craft shop. swiss mountainlodges aim is to increase sales by 25% over 3 years, and monitor the progress towardsthese targets. swiss mountain lodge will devote an area, or a proportion of goods on sale, tolocal handicraft. swiss mountain lodge will monitor tourist purchasing, and also solicitcustomer feedback on the product range, quality and price - and share this feedback withproducers

swiss mountain lodge will facilitating interpretation material regarding handicraft to enhanceits value to customers, e.g. by using attractive and informative labelling

swiss mountain lodge will obtain and sharing advice on the types of raw materials that canbe harvested in a sustainable fashion and used for craft production. swiss mountain lodgewill avoid products that are made of indigenous hardwoods or rare and endangered species,and making sure that guests are aware of these precautionary measures

swiss mountain lodge will only purchase local crafts to use as part of the enterprise décor -furniture, decorations, soft furnishings, tableware, etc. to ensure that visitors know the originsof the items and where / how they can be purchased for own use. swiss mountain lodge willtarget 25% of new furnishings to be purchased from local craft development enterpriseswithin 150 km of the enterprise. monitor and report on local spend in relation to our target

how does a tourism operation affect conservation and biodiversity?

a tourism enterprise like swiss mountain lodge can affect the local environment and itsbiodiversity values in a number of ways - both positive and negative. “responsible” operators willrecognise this inter - relationship and attempt to manage their impacts in such a way that theyleave a net positive impact on the environment. to determine how a particular enterprise impactson the natural world, it is necessary that swiss mountain lodge will examine all aspects of theoperation over the life cycle of the enterprise

10.0 epilogues

swiss mountain lodge assumes the following:

market growth projections for the tourism industry and for travelling are accurate national economic conditions, which are favourable to tourism and travel industry, will not

experience significant decline in the next five years international conditions will remain favourable for service providers and swiss mountain

lodge will be able to maintain those relationships according our past experience, and as a positive outlook, is that those assumptions and

statements of the business plan are hold in low esteem relating income generating activities.the past experienced evidences have confirmed that the growing part was faster as it wastheoretically assumed. another aspect, but more likely the negative point is, that cost ofimported construction material are increasing due to the world inconstant economycircumstances and therefore are an unpredictable component in the subject of the project

the investment opportunity will be a shining illustration of swiss hospitality in anexceptional african setting mixed with local traditional culture elements within a socio –ecological consensus and harmony

tanzania is ready for business and in fact, it has been for many, many centuries now. butwhile the emerging markets outside of africa are generating tons business investmentbuzz, africa has received little attention and has still boasted some of the highest returnsimaginable

the data is clear: in almost every case small hotels outperform larger ones. commonsense explains this occurrence: a successful 50 room lodge will inevitably prompt thedevelopment of one or more new, small lodges of similar quality in the immediate area. ina competitive market environment, the smaller lodge has a distinct advantage and winsalmost every time. the fact remains that if one builds a smaller than average property fora given brand, results should be improved over the average

internationally, there has been a growing interest in heritage and cultural tourism. thisgrowing interest has created positive views of indigenous knowledge and culturalresources, and also engendered a wide range of expectations for the impacts of culturaltourism, especially amongst disadvantaged communities. cultural tourism can facilitatethe necessary financing to rehabilitate and interpret heritage resources, as well as be atool for stimulating economic development. cultural tourism can be a source of productdifferentiation that may establish new smme opportunities

the challenge for communities and heritage sites is to provide a unique, special,and participatory tourist experience that will stimulate investment resulting in jobs andeconomic development. this challenge is complicated by three critical imperatives:

the need to preserve the integrity of the cultural resources being used for tourismpurposes;

the need to offer an ‘authentic’ experience; and

the need to respect the social and cultural way of life of the host community.

a tourism establishments like swiss mountain lodge is planned, will adopt goodenvironmental practices inevitably contribute to the quality of the surroundings,improving the experience for guests and the living standards of the local communities

to have a vision is the art of seeing things invisible

11.0 appendices, attachments and supporting documents1. pictures of plot over look and view2. plot over view simplified3. budget and forecast for year 14. budget and forecast for year 25. budget and forecast for year 36. budget and forecast for year 47. turnover forecast8. budget sales forecast details9. break even forecast10. carpenter brochure (furniture’s, accessories & gifts)11. construction task plan time table12. ground plan of twin room chalet (simplified)13. ground plan of main building (simplified) with reception - office - restaurant -

kitchen and store14. ground plan of economy building (simplified) with staff quarters - laundry -

stores15. ground plan of main kitchen en detail (simplified)16. plot layout plan with building placements17. plot layout plan with electric - water - sewage infrastructure18. staff operating organization chart19. index of inventory assets of mr. daeppen josef20. maps of location, western arc usambara mountains, access route and

usambara mountains hot - spots21. pictures & impressions of lushoto district22. pictures & images of the usambara wildlife23. tanga tourism guide book in pdf format24. record of tanga tourism network (tatona) members (as per 31. december

2011)25. pictures & impressions of a similar lodge build & managed by mr. daeppen

josef26. marketing advertising brochure - 8 pages27. marketing advertising flyer (folder type) - 2 pages28. - 29. hiking trips & tours flyer (folder type) - 2 pages30. on site activities flyer31. - 32. tree planting certificate & corresponding advertising flyer - 2 pages33. menu card - 11 pages34. “tripadvisor” review and blocs of visitors of a similar lodge managed by mr.

daeppen35. pictures of a similar lodge with pictures previous to rebuilding and

modernization and afterwards36. bird species observed in the project area37. investment guide to tanzania