Zanzibar tourism surges: Arrivals up 15pc in 2024

Unguja. Zanzibar recorded a significant boost in its tourism sector in 2024, welcoming 736,755 international visitors, a 15.4 percent increase from the 638,498 arrivals in 2023, a new tourism statistics report shows.

The report was jointly prepared by the Office of the Chief Government Statistician and the Zanzibar Commission for Tourism.

Although the growth is slightly under the 800,000 target set, it underscores Zanzibar’s rising appeal as a leading destination in Africa, driven by increased global connectivity and sustained interest from European markets.

European tourists continued to dominate Zanzibar’s tourism landscape, accounting for 71.6 percent of total arrivals—that’s 527,845 visitors in 2024.

Among them, Italy emerged as the top source market, contributing 87,202 tourists (11.8 percent), followed closely by Germany (9.7 percent), France (9.4 percent), and Poland (7 percent). The UK also maintained a strong presence with over 42,000 British travellers.

Notably, Poland and other emerging markets like India, China and Ukraine showed marked improvement, with these regions collectively registering a 12.8 percent rise in visitor numbers compared to the previous year.

While European tourists continued to dominate total arrivals, African nations showed robust growth, underscoring the importance of intra-African travel to Zanzibar’s tourism economy.

African countries contributed 98,402 visitors in 2024, representing 13.4 percent of total international arrivals. This marks a 16.9 percent increase from the 84,158 African visitors recorded in 2023, signaling a positive trend in regional travel and a growing interest among African travellers in Zanzibar as a preferred destination.

South Africa and Kenya led the continent in tourist numbers. South Africa was the top African source market, bringing in 31,254 tourists, a 28.6 percent increase compared to the previous year. Kenya followed with 23,530 visitors, reflecting a 26.2 percent growth.

Other African nations contributed 40,475 visitors, including travellers from countries such as Nigeria, Uganda, Rwanda, and Mozambique. Egypt saw a slight decline, with 3,143 tourists—a drop of 0.8 percent from 2023.

Zanzibar’s Abeid Amani Karume International Airport remained the primary gateway, receiving 646,830 visitors, or 87.8 percent of the total, with 592,613 arriving on international flights. Sea arrivals accounted for 89,925 visitors, including 5,869 cruise ship passengers and 84,056 arriving via ferry from mainland Tanzania.

The statistics indicate that Zanzibar remains a leisure-first destination. An overwhelming 98.3 percent of tourists in 2024 came for holidays, while a mere 0.6 percent visited friends and relatives and 1.1 percent cited other purposes. Gender distribution leaned slightly towards females, with 51.9 percent of visitors being women and 48.1 percent men. The number of male and female visitors rose by 10.7 percent and 20.1 percent, respectively.

In terms of age demographics, 86 percent of visitors were between 15 and 64 years old—the working-age population—while both children and retirees each made up seven percent of the total arrivals.

On average, tourists stayed in Zanzibar for eight nights in 2024, with about 19.5 percent of all visitors staying for exactly seven days. The island had 9.2 million bed spaces available throughout the year, of which 5.9 million were sold in July, translating to a 64.3 percent occupancy rate during that peak month.

Among the fast-growing source countries, Ukraine posted a 62.3 percent increase, China grew by 78.7 percent, and Japan saw a remarkable 92.7 percent increase in visitors. These numbers reflect Zanzibar’s expanding global reach and the success of marketing efforts in non-traditional tourism markets.

Commentators say that Zanzibar’s stellar tourism performance in 2024 is a testament to its global allure, infrastructural investments, and sustained efforts to diversify its visitor base.

With steady growth across traditional and emerging markets alike, the archipelago is poised for an even more vibrant 2025.