Aiming to become a leading tourist destination on the Eastern Coast of the Indian Ocean, Zanzibar is now working to increase the number of tourist hotels and high class tourism services to attract more visitors in the island.
Zanzibar government is now targeting an increase in number of international visitors to boost the island’s economy.
Jointly with foreign and local investors, the Zanzibar government is attracting development of tourist hotels through investment ventures that draw in foreign hospitality and franchise chains.
The Five-Star 106-room Hotel Verde Zanzibar is among the newcomers to the Island’s tourism scene.
Other new hotel established in Zanzibar in 2019 are the four-star Golden Tulip Airport Zanzibar Hotel, owned and managed by Royal group of Companies.
The five-star Moja Tuu and Hakuna Majiwe beach resorts are also the new entrants in Zanzibar service industry. The two beach resorts are managed by Aleph Hospitality Group.
Founder and Managing Director of Aleph Hospitality Mr. Bani Haddad said that his company has been looking to enter Zanzibar in its rapid expansion in Africa. Aleph is planning to manage 35 hotels in East Africa, Africa and the Middle East by 2025, Bani said.
Tourism sector, that accounts for 27 percent of Zanzibar’s GDP and over 80 percent of foreign currency earnings, while employing over 75,000 people, is Zanzibar’s leading private sector job creator.
Zanzibar is also aiming to raise the number of tourists through promotion of annual cultural festivals taking place at the Stone Town, including the Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF) and Sauti za Busara (voices of wisdom).
Cruise shipping tourism is the other source of foreign tourists visiting Zanzibar that is banking on the Island’s geographical position with its proximity to the Indian Ocean island ports of Durban (South Africa), Beira (Mozambique) and Mombasa on the Kenyan coast.
Zanzibar Commission for Tourism (ZCT) Chief Executive Officer Mr. Khamis Mbeto Khamis said that a series of tourism festivities are planned to keep tourists flowing to the Island irrespective of seasons.
He said that tourism festivities will increase visitor arrivals and tourist spending on the Island.
Source: eTurboNews