More tourists visited Zanzibar in 2005

Zanzibar in 2005 attracted a total of 125,443 tourists, according to a published report.  Last year’s number was 33,282 more than 2004’s tally.

The marketing director of the Zanzibar Tourism Commission has attributed the increase of tourists to improved infrastructure, social and economic stability and promotional campaigns, Xinhua report.
Ali Khalil Mirza told Xinhua that the period between July and September was the peak tourism season in Zanzibar when the isles drew 44,385 tourists whereas the months of April, May and June were the off-season when only 12,688 tourists came.

The report added that the number of foreign tourists to Zanzibar has been increasing by an average of 13 percent each year in recent years, boosting Zanzibar economic growth in terms of gross domestic product by an average of 15 percent a year.

Tourism accounts for one fifth of Zanzibar’s gross domestic product as the 2004/2005 fiscal year ending in June last year earned more than US$55 million from the tourism sector alone.
The United Kingdom, Spain and the United States are among this Indian Ocean nation’s most frequent visitors.  Italians, however, are Zanzibar’s best clients with more than a third, or 45,065, of 2005’s foreign tourists from Italy between January and December.

By eTN Staff Writer 

January 31, 2006   Posted in: Africa