Zanzibar named top travel destination in Africa

Zanzibar has been named as a top travel destination for 2023 by Travelers Worldwide Magazine putting the Island on top of 15 best travel destinations in Africa.

According to the magazine Zanzibar’s unique history which features a blend of Arab, Swahili, Indian, and Portuguese influences positions the Island as a must visit in the New Year.

“Take a walk around Stone Town, where you can see historical buildings or get lost in ancient pathways. You can also spend some nights on the other side of the island at places like Paje Beach, which has many resorts and restaurants. There are always beach parties and events going on as well,” writes the magazine.

The announcement comes at a time when the tourism sector globally is recovering from the shockwaves o the Covid-19 pandemic with recent numbers showing that arrivals in Zanzibar were set to hit pre-Covid days.

Analysts say that this could see the number of arrivals increase further but questioned whether the Archipelago was ready to handle the influx.

Speaking to The Citizen on the latest development the Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of tourism and antiquities Ms Fatma Khamis said one of the key issues that has kept Zanzibar afloat is that the Island never went into lockdown compared to other markets.  

“Together with the infrastructure developments, the promotions, we have positioned ourselves as an all year round destination. Already as you have witnessed even what used to be off-shoulder seasons now attract many visitors,” she said.

According to her there has been an  increase of 3000 beds which can serve up to 6000 visitors given the number of hotels that have opened in the past two years.

She said more is yet to be achieved in that area because out of the 215 investment projects that have been registered at the Zanzibar Investment Promotion Authority (Zipa) 100 are in the hospitality industry.

“The opening of the Terminal 3 building will also help to reduce congestion at the airport, but we have started training service providers on how to effectively deliver tourist services,” she said.

She added: Soon we shall embark on a process to upgrade hotels to fit the East Africa standardization.

The ministry in the first quarter of 2023 plans to launch a digital programme that will enable them to capture the exact statistics of the number of visitors entering Zanzibar in real time.

On his part, the Zanzibar Tourism Investors (Zati) chairman Rahim Bhaloo the recognition that Tanzania and Zanzibar is getting is due to the purposeful and strategic effort being put in by stakeholders such as Ministry of Tourism of both sides / TTB / ZCT to market Zanzibar as a destination into new strategic markets with spending power capacity.

“This has in the long run enhanced our position within East Africa and Africa as whole,” said Mr Bhaloo who is also the chairman of the Zanzibar Commission for Tourism.

He said that with so much commitment by the government to improve the infrastructure such as roads / electricity/ water supply / airports/ seaports / adding value to our other commodities, Zanzibar’s position as a priority destination will strengthen further.

And just like the PS, he too, admits there is work to do in order to open up further as a country by improving accessibility to visitors and improving on visa process and more international scheduled flights arrival instead of charter flight to make Tanzania and Zanzibar as an all year round tourist destination.

“The investors have shown their trust and confidence in government policies and approach their own service providers to enhance their facilities and services to meet the required international standards with affordability,” he added.