Zanzibar Tourist Arrivals Up 45Pc In July

ZANZIBAR, Aug 10 (NNN-DAILYNEWS) - ZANZIBAR welcomed a total of 98,370 international visitors in July 2025, marking a significant 45.2 per cent increase compared to 68,223 visitors recorded in July 2024 and a 45.7 per cent rise from 67,496 visitors in June 2025.

Fatma Hilali Mohammed from the Tourism Statistics Section told reporters during a press briefing held at the Office of the Chief Government Statistician (OCGS) that Europe remained the leading region contributing 63,358 visitors, which accounts for 64.4 per cent of all arrivals in July.

Italy topped the list with 10,403 tourists, equivalent to 10.6 per cent of all arrivals. It was followed by France (7,583 or 7.7 per cent), the United Kingdom (6,307 or 6.4 per cent), Germany (5,620 or 5.7 per cent) and Poland (4,997 or 5.1 per cent).

Fatma said that other key regions included Africa, with 14,178 visitors (14.4 per cent), Asia with 12,112 visitors (12.3 per cent) and Oceania with 1,386 visitors (1.4 per cent).

According to the data, 89,325 visitors (90.8 per cent) entered Zanzibar via airports, while 9,045 (9.2 per cent) arrived by sea. Of all arrivals, 54.0 per cent were male (53,154) and 46.0 per cent were female (45,216).

“The overwhelming majority 99.4per cent came for leisure and holidays, while 0.5 per cent visited friends and relatives and 0.1 per cent came for other reasons such as business and conferences. The average length of stay for tourists in Zanzibar was seven days.

Public Relations Officer from the Zanzibar Immigration Department, Shariff Bakari Shariff said that 2,947 Tanzanian nationals also entered Zanzibar during the same period. Among them, 2,143 were returning from activities abroad.

Sharrif said that one person was denied entry and 213 foreign nationals were arrested for various immigration violations, including overstaying and residing illegally.

Out of the detained individuals, 164 were issued with special permits to regularise their stay, three were taken to court, six were ordered to leave the country and 20 cases remain under investigation.

“We urge citizens to remain vigilant and report any suspicious individuals who may be living or working in violation of immigration laws,” he explained.

Commenting on the sharp rise in arrivals, Maabad Jaffar Muhidini from the Zanzibar Commission for Tourism attributed the increase to ongoing improvements in air and sea transportation infrastructure, along with recent policy reforms in the tourism sector.

He added that Zanzibar government, which targets over a million tourists by 2027, continues to enhance facilities to make the islands more attractive to international visitors. - NNN-DAILYNEWS

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