by Apolinari Tairo, eTN Tanzania
Targeting to attract more tourists, the island of Zanzibar is organizing an international tourism exhibition in October this year which will be the first travel and tourism marketing event on the Indian Ocean island.
For the first time, the exhibition will be held in Zanzibar from October 17-20 of this year with expectations to attract over 150 travel and tourism business companies across the world.
The 4-day exhibition, to be held in the historic Stone Town, will be an ultimate business event for the domestic and international tourism industry.
Registered as The Zanzibar Tourism Show, the event is expected to play a host to many destinations dedicated exclusively to the island and East African and African travel and tourist markets.
The exhibition will run under the theme “Responsible Tourism for A Better and A Greener Tomorrow.” It will also put a thrust on marketing Zanzibar as a leading tourist destination in East Africa.
Zanzibar Information, Tourism and Heritage Minister Mahmoud Thabit Kombo has launched 3 eight-strong committees including steering, technical, and awards for the kicking implementation of the process, with members picked from both the government and the private sector.
He said the upcoming show as a unique event meant to demonstrate the readiness of Zanzibar to expand and diversify investment opportunities in the tourism sector.
Zanzibar President Dr. Ali Mohammed Shein said his government is now targeting to attract 500,000 tourists in 2020 through joint venture business programs with private investors in tourism.
Competing closely with the Vanilla Islands which is made up of Seychelles, Mauritius, and the Maldives, Zanzibar is a fast-growing beach tourism destination in East Africa.
The island has set the Vision 2020 targets to attract 500,000 tourists per year with about 6,200 tourist hotel beds in 6 classes of accommodation.
Zanzibar island has been a target for high-class tourists, competing closely with the Vanilla Islands. Cruise shipping tourism is the other source of tourist income to Zanzibar due to its geographical position with its proximity in the Indian Ocean island ports of Durban (South Africa), Beira (Mozambique), and Mombasa on the Kenyan coast.
The island stands among the first African destinations for early travelers from India, China, and the Middle East. Rich cultures and old Arabic architecture pull thousands of tourists to the island each year, bringing balanced competition with other coastal towns along the Indian Ocean.
