Pandemic not slowing down Zanzibar Tourism at all
Zanzibar, the Indian Ocean island holiday paradise in the country of Tanzania, adapted and stayed open, with its tourism getting on and attracting tourists from Europe and the United States of America, apart from other parts of the world.
The island has taken a determined stance through the pandemic. During the first winter of the coronavirus outbreak in January to March 2021, some 142,263 tourists visited the island, entry data shows. Many hotels are fully booked. With tropical temperatures around 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit), much of life in Zanzibar takes place outdoors, from picnics to strolling around the old town or taking a tour of spice farms.
Tourists in Zanzibar can buy home-made soaps made of seaweed in souvenir shops, listen to bands playing at beach clubs, or watch the sunset with a cool glass of wine on the terraces of historic Arab-Indian trading palaces.
Zanzibar President Dr. Hussein Mwinyi said his government intends to further promote investment by including the leasing of small islands of Zanzibar into development of high-end economic activities in a need for diversification to attract very high-end investors. The government had leased 8 small islands to high-end strategic investors late in December 2021 then gained $261.5 million through lease acquisition costs.
President Mwinyi said the islands were idle then, denying Zanzibar millions of dollars through rent and taxes from investments developed in those islands. Zanzibar has about 53 small islands (islets) earmarked for tourism development and other marine-based investments.
The island has adopted the Blue Economy policy targeting development of marine resources with beach and heritage tourism part of the envisaged Blue Economy policy.
“We are focusing on preserving the Stone Town and other heritage sites to attract more tourists. This move will be in line with improving sports tourism, including golfing, conference and exhibition tourism,” Dr. Mwinyi said. The Government of Zanzibar had intended to increase the number of tourists from the 500,000 recorded before the COVID-19 pandemic to one million this year, he said.
Focusing to become a business hub in the Indian Ocean’s Eastern Rim, Zanzibar is now targeting to tap services industry and marine resources to achieve its envisaged Blue Economy under its new “Development Vision 2050.”
